The Legend of Wonderland!
by PikachuGirlXx
Summary: The Legend of Wonderland is as so: 'Girls who are bored, or feel left out, will be whisked away by a man with mysterious powers. They will be taken to Wonderland, where their melancholics will be sullied forever.' With this in mind, what else was supposed to happen when everyone was busy? When Luffy was bored? (Pairing?)
1. Chapter 1

__******Because every character deserves a day in wonderland... even (fem)Luffy.**

Luffy ran around on the Thousand Sunny. It was the perfect day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in sight. Great weather for fishing, for playing. She jumped into the garden, looking for her navigator.

"Nami!" She ran through. The orange haired girl looked over at her captain.

"Oh. What's up, Luffy?" she asked the younger girl.

"Let's play tag!" Luffy jumped. Nami shook her head.

"Uh, as much as I would love to Luffy, I'm a bit busy right now," she said. It was then that Luffy noticed the large baskets of tangerines. Nami must be picking them off the trees. Luffy smiled.

"Okay! Maybe next time! Have fun, Nami!" She left the garden. Who would play with her now? Maybe... she ran to the deck.

Robin looked up from her book. A familiar shadow was blocking her light.

"How may I help you, Captain-san?" she asked. Luffy smiled.

"Play with me!" she begged.

"Maybe after my book, Captain-san. Why not ask Usopp or Chopper?" she suggested. Luffy thought.  
"Okay!" She turned, leaving Robin to finish her book. Robin sure did like to read. Though, what's more fun than doing something you love? Luffy smiled as she walked up the stairs to Chopper's room. Chopper was never too busy to play with her. Or, at least she thought that way.

Luffy opened the door, Chopper was running back and forth, back and forth. She scratched her head under her hat.

"Um, Chopper? Wanna play tag?" she asked. Chopper stopped his rushing to look at Luffy. He shook his head.

"I really want to, Luffy! But flu season is coming up! I need to make sure we have the proper herbs, medicine -" He went off on a rant about health and things Luffy didn't get.

"Oh, okay then. I'll ask Usopp." Luffy smiled, leaving her most favorite reindeer doctor to his work. She walked back to the deck. Usopp was probably fishing. She looked around, only seeing Brook. Maybe... but, when she got a closer look, trying not to disturb what seemed like concentration, she saw he was busy at work, writing a song. Drinking some tea. She sighed. He was busy as well... she continued on her path to find Usopp, but instead she heard a large bang. Franky and Usopp cheered. She ran down the stairs. Whatever they were doing, it almost sounded like they were done!

She burst inside Franky's room. Usopp and him appeared to be working on an invention. They were covered in soot and ash, oil and cola.

"Are you guys done? Do you wanna play with me?" she asked. The Cyborg and marksman looked back.

"Oh! Luffy-aneki!" Franky waved.

"Sorry, Luffy! We're real busy right now!" Usopp smiled.

"This is almost done! We can have a _super _game when we're done!" Franky promised. Luffy smiled.

"Sounds like a plan!" She said, scurrying up the stairs. She was, in all reality, disappointed. She decided to pay her chef a visit. She slowed to a walk. Sanji didn't like it when she ran in the kitchen, in fear she would knock something over and get hurt. She opened the door, it made a creaking noise that made Sanji turn to face her.

Sanji smiled at Luffy.

"Sanji!" Luffy walked in to hang over his shoulder. "Wanna play a game? Tag? Hide and seek?" she pushed. Sanji sighed.

"Oh, Luffy-chwan. I would love to take part in your fun, but alas, I have to cook a meal fit for a beautiful captain like yourself," he dismayed. Luffy looked at all the dishes and ingredients. Sanji was busy. Sanji was cooking. Sanji was cleaning. She smiled her best smile.

"Okay! Good luck!" She waved as she walked out. "Anything Sanji makes is my favorite food, don't push yourself." She smiled before closing the door. Outside, she sighed, leaning against the door. She listened to the silence of the ship, some wrenches clanking, scurrying feet, rustling leaves, humming, the faint turning of a book page. Then, far off, all the way up in the crow's nest, she heard heavy steps and strained grunts that told her Zoro was training. Zoro... he was never too busy for her. Never, ever. She smiled, making her way to the crow's nest.

She pushed up the hatch, and sure enough, Zoro dropped the giant training weight to look at her.

"Hi, Zoro!" Luffy hopped up and made her way over to her first mate. Zoro's eyes went wide.

"Oi! Luffy! Look out!" he yelled. Luffy was confused until she tripped on a weight, tumbling into a shelf, knocking over more weights and, sending Zoro's three swords flying into the air. She gasped when she opened her eyes and saw them falling towards her, she shut her eyes when she saw they were un-sheathed. She waited, but the sharp pain never came. She opened her eyes and saw Zoro standing over her, a sword in his mouth, one in his hand, the other teetering on his foot. She crawled from under him and Zoro let the swords fall. He put them away and turned to look at the mess his captain had made. Luffy looked around too.

"Sorry, Zoro! I just wanted to play a game with you! I'll help you clean!" she offered. Zoro shook his head, giving Luffy a reassuring smirk.

"No it's fine. I can try and pick them all up, four at a time. It'll help with my training," he said. Luffy smiled and nodded.

"Glad I could help!" She started to leave. It was best to leave Zoro alone now. He needed to train, plus it was her fault the room was a mess now anyway. Zoro was busy, Zoro was training, Zoro was cleaning.

Luffy sat at the head of the ship. Her favorite spot. She sighed. It seemed like everyone was too busy for her today. No one wanted to play, no one ___could_play. She wished she could build, that she could cook or make medicine, that she enjoyed reading or gardening, that she could train as much as Zoro without getting bored. Then maybe she'd have something to do right now. She yawned and laid on the head, drifting in and out of sleep.

A large ___splash_was made in the water. It made Luffy wake up completely. A single, small, boat is what she saw in the water below. A person, too. He hopped up and was in front of her. Surprised, she let out a scream, jumping back and landing on the ground. The man had white hair and sharp teeth. He was wearing a butler's uniform and a top hat, smiling down at Luffy.

"Who the hell are you!?" Luffy shouted, gaining the attention of her crew. Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Nami, Brook, Robin, they had all ran to see what had given their captain such a scare.

"I'm whoever you want me to be! I'm here yet I'm not! Come, Monkey D. Luffy, into a land of wonder!" He smiled a sharp-toothed smile. Zoro took out his swords. Everyone was ready to fight.

"Like I'd come with you!" Luffy growled, poised and ready to battle.

"Such a shame, I wished not to use force, but you will be mine!" He smiled, lifting his hands in a presenting matter. The crew stepped back.

"Gum Gum, Pistol!" Luffy punched forward.

"No, no, dear Luffy." He wagged his finger and Luffy's arm wouldn't stretch. The crew looked at her strangely.

"Gum Gum, Whip!" She kicked, nothing. Her Devil's Fruit... what happened?

"Looking for this, my dear?" The man flicked his wrist and the Rubber Rubber Fruit was in his hand. The crew gasped.

Luffy ran and reached for it. Her Devil's Fruit!

"Luffy! Don't!" Zoro ran forward but it was too late. The man moved out the way and gripped Luffy around the waist.

"Hey! Let go!" Luffy tugged and pulled. She felt so helpless with out her Devil's Fruit. The man tossed it, and her hat, to the crew. He tipped his own hat and smiled.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said. He jumped back into his boat.

"Zoro! Sanji! Everyone!" Luffy yelled, struggling to get free. The crew ran and was about to hop over the ledge when the boat and the man disappeared along with Luffy.

"LUFFY!" the crew yelled.

Zoro kicked the ground. Sanji punched the wall. Usopp, Franky and Chopper continued yelling Luffy's name, hoping for a response. Nami shook her head.

"Luffy... maybe if I had played with her, she wouldn't have been there." The navigator looked at the spot her captain had been captured in.

"She asked you to play, too?" the crew all asked at once. Then they looked at each other. Robin spoke next.

"It seems we all could have prevented this," she said.

"We were all too busy..." Chopper cried.

"None of us could have taken the time to entertain her..." Usopp sat.

"And now she's gone," Brook said. Robin looked at her book.

"A land of wonder," she muttered.

"What?" Sanji looked up.

"Wonderland. That's where Luffy must be." Robin said, she held up her book. "This is a book about a place called 'Wonderland'. It's a magical place where everything is exactly as it seems."

"How do you get there? Why was Luffy taken?" Nami asked.

"It says, 'Girls who are bored, or feel left out, will be whisked away by a man with mysterious powers. They will be taken to Wonderland where their melancholies will be sullied forever.'" She read. The crew looked at each other.

"Left out?" Chopper asked. The crew suddenly felt bad. Nami stood.

"We're going to Wonderland! To get Luffy back!" she yelled. Zoro picked up the Devil's Fruit and her straw hat off the ground.

"I'll put this in the captain's quarters," he said.

"Let's go! Everyone!" Usopp yelled.

"To get Luffy!" everyone shouted.

___**And so, the crew set off on a journey to find the fabled 'Wonderland' while Luffy, unconscious on the mystery man's boat, now had a red dress with a white apron and a red bow in her hair. The man smoothed her hair away from her face.**_

_**"**_**__****Such beauty... Monkey D. Luffy." He planted a kiss on her forehead. He smiled, sailing into Wonderland. He scooped up Luffy, placing her in a bed of roses on the beach. He ran a hand through her hair again. "In time. You'll come to find me. You will be mine." He smiled. Then, he disappeared, leaving Luffy to sleep through the night****__**** .**


	2. Chapter 2

Water rocked the bed of roses being carried into a whirlpool. Luffy awoke. She scrambled up.

"Wh-what?" she muttered. "Where am I?" she asked. What happened to her? She remembered... she was bored, on the Thousand Sunny, a man appeared and took her Devil's Fruit. She was taken from her crew. Where was she now? She felt herself spinning. She screamed when she saw she was being sucked into a whirlpool. "Zoro!? Sanji!? Guys!?" She hugged her knees. Wait, since when did she get this dress? Where was her hat? She felt scared without her hat. The whirlpool sucked her in. This was it. She never learned how to swim. She was sucked down, opening her mouth trying to breath. Down she went, kicking, making futile screams and cries for help.

She fell unconscious and when she came to, she was out of the water and falling down a very strange hole. Luffy steadied herself.

"Whoa." Luffy looked around. "What a strange place," she murmured. She flipped a switch that floated by and the room was illuminated. Pictures of her, her crew, her family. She fell and fell. "I wonder... what if I fall right through the earth and I end up in that part of the world were people walk upside-down? How will I deal with that?" she wondered aloud. Then she shook her head. "Don't be silly, Luffy. Everyone knows that nothing's on the bottom of the earth." She laughed to herself. "But how long will I be falling for?" She looked around, and her falling speed increased. She hit the ground hard. Only it hurt. "That's right. My Devil's Fruit is gone. I should be careful," she muttered.

Then that man appeared.

"Hello." He grinned that sharp-toothed grin.

"Where am I!?" Luffy yelled. He smiled wider.

"Welcome, my dear, to Wonderland!" He spread his arms. Luffy crossed hers.

"I want to go back," she snapped.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because my crew needs me!"

"Do they?"

"Of course they do!"

"They didn't seem to need you." He shrugged. Luffy frowned. Of course they needed her... but...

She shook her head.

"They do," she insisted, a bit less sure.

"Nami didn't need your help gardening," the man said.

"Because I don't know how."

"Robin didn't invite you to read with her."

"She knows I don't like to read."

"Brook didn't even notice you were there watching."

"He was concentrating..."

"Chopper didn't ask you to help gather herbs."

"Because I -"

"Usopp and Franky didn't need you to help with the invention."

"Well that's -"

"Sanji didn't need you for cooking."

"I -"  
"Even Zoro wouldn't take time out of his training for you."

Luffy played with the hem of her dress. She felt fidgety now. It was true. Her crew didn't need her. They had their own things to do. They probably didn't notice she was gone. She shook her head, tears threatening to fall. She had to trust her crew. They would come for her, right? Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Nami, Robin, Franky, Brook. They all... needed...

She couldn't help it. She started crying.

The man came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Now, now, don't soil that face of yours with tears!" he cooed. Luffy looked up. "Your crew may not need you, but I do." He tilted her chin so she would look at him.

"For what?" she wiped her face, embarrassed she was crying in front of her captor.

"For you! You're incredible! Gorgeous, strong, kind." He walked around her. Luffy smiled at him.

"I appreciate the compliments, but I really have to get back to my crew," she said. The man frowned.

"At least allow me to introduce myself." He grabbed Luffy's arm before she turned. Luffy relunctantly directed her attention back to him. She didn't notice the exit close off.

"Oh, what's your name?" Luffy asked.

"I'm the King of Wonderland! Wonder D. Ryuu!" He bowed.

"I'm Luffy. Nice to meet you, Ryuu." Luffy nodded her head in greeting. Then she turned to see the exit was gone. "Ah! Hey! Ryuu!" she yelled angrily. Ryuu smiled at her and grabbed her hand.

"Oh! I'm afraid there's only one way in and one way out." He clicked his tongue, wrapping both arms around her neck. Luffy moved away and crossed her arms.

"Show me! I have to get back!" Luffy stomped her feet. Ryuu smiled.

"Of course! Also, might you consider staying here? Being my Queen?" he suggested, walking away.

"Your Queen? I'm gonna be Queen of the Pirates!" Luffy followed after him. He turned a corner, she turned a corner, and he was gone.

Luffy looked around.

"Hey!" she called. She was in a round room. "Ryuu!" She tried to open all the doors. They didn't open. They were locked. "Ryuu!" she called again. "Oi! Ryuu! Come back!" she yelled. No Ryuu. She sighed. Then a curtain pulled open. A small door was there. She tried to open it. It was locked too. She growled, turning the knob hard.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey, girly! Knock it off!" Luffy jumped back. The door was wiggling its knob. It now had a face and was glaring at her. Luffy stuttered.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry! I was just looking for Ryuu and -"

"Ryuu!?" the door interrupted. "So wait, you're Luffy? _The_ Luffy?" Luffy nodded.

"I guess so." She scratched her short dark hair. The door smiled. It began to grow until it was just her size.

"Well, by all means. Find the key and you may pass," it said.

"The key?" Luffy looked around.

"Try around your neck, miss." The door smiled. Luffy felt her neck.

"Oh, yeah! He probably put something around my neck..." She grabbed the key that was dangling on the necklace. Luffy put the key in the lock and the door opened. She was staring out into an ocean. It was raging and stormy. She looked around, poking her head out the door. A boat floated along side the door, so she jumped in. When she reached for an ore, it was pulled from her grasp. She looked up to see another man. He had black hair and a white butler suit. He smiled at Luffy with familiar sharp teeth. "Ryuu?" Luffy asked.

The man scowled and shook his head.

"Ryuu's my brother. I'm also the King of Wonderland. Zyuu," he introduced. Luffy shook her head. It was all confusing. Zyuu held out a cookie. "Eat that," he demanded. Luffy bit into it without hesitation.

"It's good!" Luffy smiled, she went to take another bite when Zyuu pulled it away from her. Luffy frowned.

"I think not." He put the rest of the cookie in his pocket. Then, Luffy started growing smaller.

"Hey, Zyuu! What's happening!?" she yelled as she shrunk. Zyuu smiled and grabbed her, holding her up to his face.

"Well, don't you look adorable." Zyuu laughed.

"Change me back!" Luffy kicked.

"Not yet." He opened a small bottle and placed Luffy inside.

"Hey! Zyuu!" Luffy banged on the bottle.

"I'll see you later, Lu-chan." Zyuu winked.

"What?" Luffy was confused until Zyuu tossed her bottle into the sea before sailing away. Luffy punched at the bottle. "Hey! Zyuu! Come back!" she yelled. She was confused. Ryuu and Zyuu were really opposite. Ryuu was more like Sanji while Zyuu was more like Zoro, only Ryuu and Zyuu were brothers. She settled down into the bottle. This was all very confusing.

Luffy drifted off to sleep inside the bottle, which floated along in the ocean away from the talking door, away from the round room, away from the hall, away from the exit, away from the whirlpool, away from the beach, and away from her crew.

******Straw Hat Crew**

Robin continued to read book after book on Wonderland. Nami was looking at maps for any uncharted area near there. Zoro kept look out with the two in the crow's nest. Below, Sanji guarded the hat and fruit, making death threats on what he was gonna do if he ever found that "white-haired bastard." Chopper and Usopp panicked and Franky steered according to Nami's directions.

"Ryuu and Zyuu," Robin announced. Nami and Zoro looked over.

"Who?"

"The Kings of Wonderland." Robin showed them a photo of two men. One had white hair and a black butler's suit while the other had black hair and a white butler's suit. Zoro pointed at the white-haired one.

"That's the guy that took Luffy," he muttered.

Nami grabbed the book and read aloud. "The Kings take young girls and bring them to Wonderland to see if they will make a proper Queen. The girl will be put through dangers and tests, forced to continue without a way home or any special powers to aid them." She looked at the other book. "One girl who made it back recounts that she woke up in a bed of roses before being pulled into a high-speed whirlpool."

It was hours later that Chopper and Usopp ran in with a flower petal.

"Usopp fished it up," he said. Nami smiled at it.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"A rose petal," Nami replied. The crew, now all up to speed and sitting in the kitchen, started talking with each other until Robin came in with a book.

"Then we must be close. We have to hurry," Robin said.

"Why? What's the book say?" Sanji asked.

"Ryuu and Zyuu will choose their Queen, a girl of great beauty, courage, and kindness. Someone whose innocence exceeds their knowledge. Once a Queen is chosen, Ryuu and Zyuu with battle for her love and the girl will be forced to stay with her King forever." That was the end of the book. The crew was silent.

"Luffy," Chopper murmured concernedly.

"MAKE HER THEIR QUEEN, MY ASS!" Sanji and Zoro growled.

"Where's this island, anyway?" Zoro asked. Nami spoke up.

"North of here. About a day's trip. The whirlpool is strong, though. It drags the rose bed off the beach and down into the whirlpool, so we'll need to decide which one of us is going," Nami said.

"Only two can go. I doubt more can enter considering that Zyuu wasn't with Ryuu," Robin injected.

"I'll go," Zoro and Sanji both said. "No, I'll go," they both said again. "YOU'RE NOT GOING!" they yelled at each other.

"Then it's settled! You both go," Nami said.

"Oh, joy," Zoro grumbled.

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji swirled.

_**Meanwhile, Luffy's bottle washed up on a different shore. Her tests were about to begin, the small girl completely unaware of the two men watching their precious Queen-To-Be's every move.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Luffy had climbed from the bottle. She was on a beach. A ___big_beach. Well, to her, anyway, having shrunk and all. She looked back at the ocean. How long had she been out? Where was Zyuu? More importantly, where was Ryuu? Ryuu promised to show her the way out. Yet, he was no where to be found. Luffy stepped forward only to have a wave wash over her and pull her back into the water. When she went under, two identical twins popped out from the trees. They each had a name tag, one said Tweedle D. and the other said Tweedle D. Dum. The boys both wore red-checkered shirts with solid red pants and a red and white propeller hat covering each of their bright red heads of hair. They looked at each other.

"Uh oh. That wasn't supposed to happen," Tweedle D. said nervously.

"Ryuu and Zyuu won't like this." Tweedle D. Dum clicked his tongue.

Luffy kicked and gasped until she came to the top of the water. She wasn't anywhere near that beach anymore. She was now in what appeared to be a sewer. She kicked and called for help; she couldn't swim. She looked to the side and saw a figure swimming through the water.

"Hey! Help! Please!" Luffy kicked, causing the figure to turn around. It was a mouse. "Yeah! Mouse! Help, I can't swim! " she yelled. The mouse swam over to her, only for her to see it wasn't a mouse, but a person with mouse-like qualities.

"Really? How old are you, Miss?" The mouse-man floated next to the flailing Luffy.

"Help! Please!" Luffy yelled. The mouse rolled his eyes and grabbed the collar of Luffy's dress and dragged her to dry concrete.

Luffy panted while the mouse-man tapped his foot impatiently. Luffy looked to her savior. He was about her age, with a black nose, tan skin, brown eyes and a gray hair color, making him look older than he was.

"How old are you? How can you not swim?" he asked.

"I- I ate a Devil's Fruit when I was really young. I never learned how to swim," Luffy panted, shaking water from her hair.

"Well, you're on your own next time, Miss..."

"Luffy."

"Miss Luffy. You're on your own next time! Anyway, you may call me Mouse." Mouse crossed his arms and decided to take pity on the dripping girl before him. "You know, you can come with me. I'm on my way to school and my teacher's lecture should dry you up."

"How can words dry you up?" Luffy asked.

"Trust me." Mouse rolled his eyes, a grin on his lips. " This is the driest lecture you'll ever hear." With that, Mouse helped up Luffy and led her into a small hole in a nearby wall, Luffy dripping water all throughout the walk.

Luffy sat in the midst of animals. A girl named Bunny, who looked like a rabbit, a Boy named Rat, who looked like a rat, and another girl named Squirrel, who looked like a squirrel were also there in addition to Luffy and Mouse. There weren't any others in the class, though. The teacher, an owl, talked on and on bout things Luffy didn't care to listen to. The soaked girl drifted in and out of sleep. Mouse nudged her.

"You dry yet, Miss Luffy?" he asked, Luffy shook her head.

"I'm as wet as the sea," she hissed.

"What was that?" The owl had stopped to stare at the two in the back.

"I'm as wet as the sea! This lecture isn't drying me at all!" Luffy shouted. The teacher was taken back.

"Oh, that is strange. Well, class dismissed for now, I suppose." The class cheered as the teacher flew off.

"What shall we play?" Bunny asked, nose twitching excitedly.

"How about we have a pirate's race!" Rat yelled. Luffy's eyes lit up.

"A pirate's race? What's a pirate's race?" she asked, bouncing on the tips of her feet.

"The only way to explain it is to do it!" Squirrel grabbed Luffy's hands and swung her around. The kids lined up. Luffy stood in the lie up, determined to win.

"On your mark!" Mouse, who agreed to be the referee, yelled. "Get set!" Everyone got ready, "Go!" Mouse jumped and everyone ran around randomly. Luffy stood, confused, not knowing where the starting line was, or where the ending line was. She saw the girls tripping the boys and the boys pushing the girls down.

"Hey, isn't that cheating?" Luffy asked Mouse, who simply shrugged.

"It's a pirate's race, what did you expect?" He laughed. Luffy shrugged, throwing herself into the fun. She was tripped, she was pushed, and she punched and kicked at whoever came to face her. At the end, she was the victor. All the kids congratulated her and they all laughed as they went home.

"Uh, guys? Hey! Wait! Where are you go - Mouse!" she yelled at the back of her retreating friends.

Luffy kicked the ground and walked around the classroom. She didn't know where to go from there.

"Well, haven't you wandered a bit to far off my path?" a voice from behind her said. She turned and saw Ryuu, smiling down at her with those sharp teeth. He was huge. "Oh! Look how small you are!" He chuckled. Luffy fumed and Ryuu took out a small vial. "Here you go, Luffy! Drink up!" he said. Luffy grabbed the bottle from the oversized fingers and drunk it down. She began to grow. Once she was full-sized, she glared at Ryuu.

"Ryuu! Where'd you go?!" She angrily punched his arm. "I almost drowned!" she yelled. Ryuu smiled and rubbed his arm.

"Yes, yes, I heard. You're lucky I found you when I did, my dear. God knows what could have happened to you out here." He looked around in disgust.

"Around here?" Luffy asked.

"This is, how you say, the 'slums' of Wonderland. True, it's just as full of magic and excitement, but it's not where you should be, Luffy." Ryuu explained. Luffy shrugged, crossing her arms.

"This part of Wonderland is just fine."

"Ah, but once you see the rest..." Ryuu trailed off, admiring his Kingdom in his own mind. Luffy rolled her eyes.

"Wait, I though Zyuu would be with you," she muttered.

"Zyuu?" Ryuu let the name roll off his tongue with disgust. "Like we would ever travel together," he grumbled. Luffy sighed.

"Well, how do I get out of here?" she asked once again.

"Oh, come with me!" Ryuu turned and opened a large book in the classroom. It was a pop-up book. A house was there. Soon the scenery around her changed, and she was at the three-dimensional home.

Ryuu led Luffy to the door. He looked around.

"Luffy, would you wait here while I stop to run an errand?" he asked. Luffy nodded.

"Sure, what are you doing?" she inquired.

"There's a noble that lives here, Fredrick Rabbit. I'm inviting him to the big event!" Ryuu smiled. Luffy nodded slowly, trying to figure out whatever this "big event" could be. She sat on the stairs, waiting as Ryuu ran into the house without knocking.

"He is a King after all..." Luffy yawned. "Kings don't knock," she guessed.

"It's actually pretty rude if you ask me," a voice said. Luffy perked up, looking around.

"Who said that?" she asked.

"I did, stupid girl," the voice said again.

"I'm not stupid! I can't see you!" she yelled.

"Oh, my bad. Sorry!" The voice laughed. Suddenly, in front of her was a man as old as Ryuu. He was wearing a black mask over his eyes, a purple and black striped shirt, black pants, and a purple cat's tail. He was hanging upside-down over the door. Luffy noticed he had purple hair and cat ears. Luffy jumped back in surprise.

"Ah! Ryuu!" She called for they closest person. The-cat boy flipped over, standing in front of her and waving his hands and shushing her.

"No, no! Hey! Don't be scared! Damn it all..." The boy put a hand with a black glove over her mouth to stop her from calling for Ryuu. "Geez! Stupid girl! Be quiet!" he hissed. Luffy nodded, relaxed now. The boy grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the house.

The boy sat on a rock and Luffy sat on the ground.

"Who're you?" Luffy asked.

"Name's Cheshire," the cat-boy, now identified as Cheshire, said.

"I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you," Luffy smiled.

"Yeah, that's great Luff. Now, what are you doing with Princey?" he asked.

"Ryuu? He's showing me how to get home." Luffy shrugged.

"Get home, my ass! Damn, this always happens," Cheshire cursed.

"What?" Luffy asked. Then the door opened.

"Alright, Fredrick! See you there!" Ryuu was saying while Cheshire and Luffy looked through the bushes. Ryuu looked around. "Oi! Luffy! Where'd you run off to?" he called. Luffy was about to answer when Cheshire pulled her back, covering her mouth and pressing her back to his chest as he leaned against the bush-covered gate.

"Shh! Are you insane?!" he hissed into her ear. Luffy glanced at him with confused eyes, muttering into his glove. Cheshire shushed her again. Luffy was quiet.

"Luffy! Come on, now! Don't hide!" Ryuu yelled. Then the king went off in a random direction, cursing his luck under his breath.

Cheshire led Luffy in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Chess, where are we going?" she asked. Cheshire winced at the nickname and looked back at her.

"We're going to see the smartest guy I know," he said, picking up the pace. Then he stopped. Luffy banged into his back. Cheshire started to shift through his pockets and pulled out a cookie.

"What's that for?" Luffy asked.

"We're going to eat them, of course. Stupid girl. We're going to see a caterpillar," he said, tossing Luffy a cookie.

"Oh." Luffy took a bite out of the cookie and Cheshire took it away, doing the same to his cookie.

"There," he said as they shrunk. Then they continued on their way. Luffy looked around at all the things she would have never seen from her normal height. "Hey, Luff. Pay attention," Cheshire snapped. Luffy ignored him, accidentally going the wrong way when the cat-boy wasn't paying attention to her and trying to find his own way.

Luffy stopped, looked around.

"Chess?" She muttered. "Chess! Hey!" she called out to him. No answer. "Stupid cat." She pouted, walking off on her own. She'd find this smart caterpillar herself.

**The Straw Hat Crew**

The Thousand Sunny was anchored near a violent whirlpool. Sanji and Zoro both ready to dive in. They knew it was the right one. The rose petals swirling with the cold water told them that Luffy had been dragged down this one.

"There." Nami tied a rope to each of the men. Robin was reading up on what Wonderland was like.

"It's a place where everything is exactly what it seems, but at the same time, nothing is what it would appear to be," she read. The crew shook the confusion from their heads and peered at the whirlpool.

"Luffy," Chopper sniffled.

"Don't worry! Zoro and Sanji will get her back!" Usopp smiled.

"Yeah, and Luffy-aneki is_ super_ strong! She'll be fine!" Franky posed. Sanji puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. He had a bag containing Luffy's Devil's Fruit. Zoro had her hat tied to a string around his neck – carrying it would have been a hassle, especially since he fought with swords.

"Ready!?" Brook yelled at the two. Sanji and Zoro nodded.

"Good luck," Nami said, nodding as the two dove in. They were spinning and kicking frantically before begin dragged down.

******Meanwhile, Luffy was in a predicament. After wandering away from Cheshire, she was forced to hide in a flower pot after being chased by a dog for what seemed like miles.**

**__****"**_****__**Freaking dog," she muttered as the nose poked through the crack. She took in a sharp breath as she pressed her back against the wall, waiting for the dog to leave. At the same time, Zoro and Sanji were falling down a strange hole, full of lamps, desks, chairs, and pictures of their captain.**_


	4. Chapter 4

__The black nose of the dog poked its way through the crack, sniffing around and trying to get to the small girl.

"Back off, back off!" Luffy yelled. She grabbed a stick from the ground before swinging it at the dog's face. She went to sit at the far side of the vase. She found another stick, a bigger one. She grabbed it and ran out the vase, throwing it for the dog to follow, which it did. Luffy smiled and ran the other way, far away from that stupid dog.

Luffy ran until she came to a large garden, like one Nami wanted, only with flowers instead of tangerines. Luffy looked around at them. The flowers were all weirdly shaped and strangely colored.

"Hello there!" a high-pitched voice called. Luffy turned.

"Hello?" she said to the voice.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry! Up, up! Look up, child!" the voice said. Luffy looked up and gasped at what she saw. A flower. It had a smiling face and was looking down at her with interest. She looked around; all the flowers had faces and they were staring at her cautiously.

"What kind of flower are you?" One flower leaned down to face Luffy.

"She has very strange petals. Maybe she's a wild flower!" Another flower used a leaf to lift her dress. Luffy turned.

"I'm not a flower," she said.

"Then what are you called?" Yet another flower joined the conversation.

"I'm Luffy!" Luffy called. A flower, not one of the ones previously, looked down in disgust.

"Who's ever heard of a Luffy," it muttered.

"Maybe she's a weed!" one flower yelled.

"A WEED!?" all the other flowers yelled.

"We don't want weeds here!" a group of flowers said at the same time.

Next thing Luffy knew, she was being pushed and jostled out the garden. Choruses of "get out!" and "ah! a weed!" flew past her ears as she tumbled out the garden. She scowled.

"If only I was bigger." She kicked at the ground, kicking up some dirt. Along with the dirt, a small seed came out. She picked it up. It was big for her hands so she had to hold it with two. She cracked it open to reveal the edible part inside. "Most things I eat make me smaller. Some things make me bigger. A seed grows, so maybe I'll grow." Luffy shrugged. Stranger things have happened. She bit into the seed and felt herself growing. The seed seemed to shrink in her hand as it fell to the ground.

Luffy looked around. She followed a path and looked up at the sign she came to. It didn't say much. Only "This way to the Hare's house" or "That way to the Mad Hatters place." "This way" and "that way?"

"Even Zoro couldn't follow these directions." Luffy sighed. They were so vague. She didn't know what to do. "I guess I'll go this way." She followed the sign to where the Hare was supposed to be. After a long walk down an annoyingly dark forest, Luffy came to a gate. A locked gate, to be specific. She pushed and pulled.

"Uh, hello? Can someone let me in?" She inquired, talking extremely loud. A small movement took place a little ways off before a man with brown rabbit ears and messy orange hair peeked out the bushes. His eyes went wide.

"A maiden at my gate? This is a very strange day indeed," he muttered, walking forward. Luffy tapped her foot.

"Can I come in?" she asked. The man shrugged.

"I would hope so. It'd be inconvenient if you couldn't enter places." He smirked.

"Can you open the door for me?"

"I can."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Open the gate!"

"Oh, I don't want to do that."

"But you just said -"

"I said I could open the door, not that I would."

She stared blankly for a moment. Luffy then angrily punched the door. Her hand hurt. It seemed like her power was drained. Is this how Nami felt? She cursed at her lack in strength and looked back at the rabbit man, who was watching her in amusement.

"That was quite a show. I guess I could open the door for you." The man pulled the gate open and motioned for Luffy to come inside.

The man, Luffy had learned, was named Hare. He led her to a large table inhabited by two other people, a man with an incredibly big top hat and a boy who was asleep on the table. Hare introduced Luffy to them.

"I have a maiden here who would like to join us!" he announced. Luffy shook her head and looked around for the way out.

"Actually, I -" she tried to say.

"There's no room, Hare!" the man with the large hat yelled.

"Honestly Hatter, why do you always -" Again, Hatter interrupted.

"Dormy! Wake up!" he yelled at the sleeping boy. The boy sputtered and grumbled before falling back asleep. Luffy was annoyed by now. She looked out at the large table with "no room" and saw an abundance of chairs and plates. And food. Luffy smiled.

"Wow! That all looks delicious!" Luffy sat down at the table and started helping herself. She was about to grab a drink when Hatter pulled the cup away. "That was rude," she said, grabbing at another cup.

"So was sitting down without asking," Hatter muttered, pouring himself a cup of tea. Luffy rolled her eyes.

Luffy bit into yet another piece of meat.

"This stuff is good! Not as good as Sanji's food, but still!" She smiled. Now the two men were intrigued.

"What on earth is a 'Sanji'?" Hare asked.

"Not a what, he's a who. Sanji's my chef!" She smiled.

"You must be pretty wealthy to have a chef," Hatter said.

"I'm not rich or anything. I'm a pirate captain! Sanji cooks food for me and my crew!" She smiled wider.

"Oh! A pirate? How incredibly interesting!" Hare clapped his hands together. The whole table's attention was on her.

"Tell us a story!" Hatter pushed.

"Well, there was that time we went to Sky Island!" Luffy smiled.

"An island in the sky?" Hare asked. Luffy nodded excitedly.

"I remember. Time has been there once. My dear, it seems you've had a great deal of adventures!" Hatter nodded.

"Oh, yes indeed! She should come to the big event later and share her stories with all of Wonderland!" Hare suggested.

"Would the Kings approve?" Hatter wondered aloud. "I mean, last time I tried to sing they nearly cut my head off!" He flailed his arms.

"Wow, that must have been-" Luffy tried, but Hatter changed the subject.

"Miss! You're a pirate?" Hatter asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Have you been to amazing places? Have you met interesting people? How does a boat stay afloat?" He attacked her with questions.

"Yes. Yes. And I'm not sure." Luffy shrugged at the last question.

"You don't know?" Hare asked.

"Um, well, let me see... how does a boat stay above water..." Luffy pondered.

"We don't know! That's why we asked you!" Hatter crossed his arms.

"No, I wasn't asking you. I was just saying the question to myself," Luffy explained. Hare gave her a weird look.

"What a strange thing to do. Why repeat it if you already know the question?" Hare asked. Luffy shrugged.

Hatter looked at the time. He screamed as his watch spun out of control.

"Oh wow! Look at the time! It's the end of the party! I have to run! So much to do! I have to get ready for the big event!" Hatter exclaimed as he scurried down the path and out the gated property. Hare looked over at Luffy.

"Oh! Miss, you should be on your way as well! Don't want to be late!" He left her sitting at the table as he entered his own home. Luffy stood, glancing at the boy who was still asleep at the table.

"Uh, hey, kid. Don't you wanna get ready for the big-event-thing?" She poked his head. The boy shot up.

"The big event! I don't... don't wanna be..." He was asleep again. Luffy laughed and walked off in the opposite direction Hatter had ran. She hopped over the smaller gate and continued into the dark forest.

**Zoro and Sanji**

At the same time in a different place, Zoro and Sanji had ventured past the talking door and swam across the small ocean to a beach where they encountered two boys who looked very much alike.

"I'm Tweedle D.!" The first boy bowed.

"I'm Tweedle D. Dum!" The other bowed, too. Zoro and Sanji looked at each other before looking back at the boys.

"Have you seen a girl about -" Zoro was interrupted.

"Brown hair, brown eyes?" Tweedle D. said.

"About this tall?" Tweedle D. Dum asked, showing them Luffy's exact height.

"With a scar under her right eye?" Tweedle D. asked.

"That's her." Sanji smirked. The boys looked at each other, wrapping an arm around each other shoulders they held up their free arm in an unknowing manner and smiled.

"Haven't seen her!" they said in unison.

Zoro and Sanji tried to continue past the lying boys when they stopped them again. They each held up a sign that said stop. They were wearing police uniforms now.

"You shall not pass!" they yelled.

"Move it brats!" Sanji growled.

"You can't go past this point!" the boys yelled again.

"I'll slice you both to pieces!" Zoro glared.

"So says the Kings!" the boys said again before Sanji kicked them both on the head. The boys screamed and cried for a bit. "But I guess you can pass," they sniffled, letting Zoro and Sanji continue. Tweedle D. looked at his brother.

"Ryuu and Zyuu will have our heads for this!" he yelled.

"No kidding!" Tweedle D. Dum whined as they watched the chef and the swordsman continue on.

******Meanwhile, Luffy was walking through the forest and was stopped by her old friend.**

_**"**__****__**Chess!" She smiled.**_

_**"**__****__**Don't 'Chess' me! Where have you been?! Eat this and follow me!" Cheshire yelled as he shoved a piece of a cookie into Luffy's mouth. He ate his own and they shrunk. Cheshire grabbed Luffy's hand and led her to their original destination.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Cheshire and Luffy stood in front of a mushroom. Cheshire's ears perked up. He looked to the side.

"I'm being called," he muttered. He turned to Luffy. "You wait here. I'll see you around, Luff." He ran off.

"Wait! Chess! What do I do!?" she yelled.

"Wait for Absulin!" was the only thing she heard before Cheshire was normal-sized and running away. Luffy sighed and decided to wait for this Absulin person. She walked back and forth. She sat on the ground. She even re-tied the bow that was coming loose in her hair. Finally, a bored voice spoke.

"Who, are, you?" Luffy looked over to see a man that resembled a caterpillar. He was sitting comfortably on the mushroom, smoking a cigar.

"I'm a pirate! Are you Absluin?" Luffy smiled.

"Shouldn't you know that? You came to see me," he snorted, blowing smoke into her face. Luffy cocked her head to the side.

"Now, who, are, you?" he breathed. The words came out in smoke. Luffy coughed and waved the smoke away from her face.

"Stop doing that!" she yelled.

"Doing what?"

"Blowing smoke in my face!"

"Oh..." He breathed out the letters into her face. Luffy growled.

The caterpillar continued to answer Luffy in short sentences. Luffy put her hands on her hips.

"Can you tell me how to get out of this place?" she asked. "Or how to get to this 'big event,'" she tried.

"Just go the way you came. Or, you can go that way." Absulin breathed out smoke that trailed off in the direction of a house Cheshire had run to.

"I'm too small to walk all the way over there!" Luffy protested.

"Then eat from the mushroom." Absulin rolled over so he could stand.

"What?" Luffy asked.

"One side will make you shorter, the other will make you taller," Absulin muttered before leaving Luffy to wonder which side was which. She sat on the mushroom and grabbed a piece from each side of the mushroom, staring at them both.

"One side makes me shorter, the other makes me taller..."

She bit into one. And she grew, and grew, and grew some more. Luffy was taller than the trees. She laughed.

"Wow! I'm so big!" She jumped up and down happily when a shrill came from above.

"Serpent! Let go of my eggs! Serpent!"A bird pecked at her head. She winced in pain and wished she was rubber again.

"No! No! Bird! Calm down! I'm a pirate!" Luffy said proudly. The bird screamed even more.

"AH! PIRATE! HELP!" She flew around Luffy's head. Luffy rolled her eyes. She picked up the other piece of the mushroom, biting into it. She shrunk and caught her balance as she returned to her normal height. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I'll save these, they could come in handy." She grinned, putting them in her pockets and running off to the house Cheshire ran off to.

After a long grassy field, she came to a house. Watching a delivery man leave after handing the doorman a letter, she walked and the doorman looked at her. Luffy smiled at him.

"I'm going inside now!" She waved, walking by.

"Why inside?" the man asked.

"Because I need to visit a friend and find my way home."

"Your way? All ways here are the Kings ways."

"That's stupid."

"Well, you don't look very bright yourself."

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses."

"If only I was stronger..." Luffy stomped up to the door and pushed the door open. A plate flew at her head. She screamed and ducked. Then she sneezed.

"MORE PEPPER!" She heard someone yell. She sneezed and ventured to the kitchen where a woman was cooking and another was scolding her child and tossing him around. She looked up at the cabinets and saw Cheshire smiling down at her with that "stupid girl"-grin he always had.

After dodging the flying plates, sneezing sneeze after sneeze, and sending nasty glares to the amused cat-boy, the crying child came flying her way.

"Ah!" The air escaped her lungs as the boy slammed into her stomach. She clutched the baby and looked down at its sniffling face. "Geez! What are they doing!? Trying to kill you!? Screw Chess! Let's get outta here before we both die!" she snapped, carrying the baby out the house.

"Back so soon?" the doorman asked as she passed.

"Shut up, door-boy!" Luffy growled as she hurried by. Again, Luffy found herself back at the signs. She looked up at them. There was a new sign up now. It said, "Go Yonder for the Big Event!" Luffy didn't have the faintest idea of what direction yonder was, so she just followed the arrow on the sign only to come to a dead end.

"Stupid girl, leaving without me," a voice chuckled.

"Well! I just assumed that the baby and I would live better outside of that horrible house." Luffy glared.

"Baby? That looks more like a pig." Cheshire laughed when Luffy noticed the baby was now a pig. She let it down and it ran off. "Well, where are you going? Home?" Cheshire appeared in front of her. Luffy shrugged.

"Don't know which way to go. I'm heading yonder," she said.

"Ah, come with me," Cheshire said, walking down a path. Luffy sighed, following the cat-eared boy.

Cheshire hopped up and sat in a tree. Luffy looked up at him and then she looked around at the dark, pathless, forest.

"Well? Which way?" she asked.

"Well, some go this way, others go that way. I personally prefer the shortcut," Cheshire explained as he kicked a branch to the side and a door opened in the large tree, revealing a beautiful garden.

"Oh wow! Chess! Check it - Chess?" She looked up to see her cat like friend had disappeared yet again. She shrugged, climbing through the tree and into the garden where men dressed like playing cards were rushing around with paint brushes. They were tripping and falling over each other, yelling about some Kings. Luffy watched them and decided the card-men could use some help.

Luffy tapped one man on the shoulder. He jumped and turned to face her.

"Oh! Oh, you've arrived! The Kings have been driving themselves up the wall looking for you!" the man shouted, shaking Luffy's shoulders.

"Ryuu and Zyuu?" she asked. The man nodded. Then, another card-man turned around.

"Is that the new Queen?" he asked. The third man answered.

"She made it all the way here, I would hope so!" He chuckled. Luffy shook her head, not understanding what they were talking about.

"Uh, what are you guys doing?" she asked.

"Painting these roses white," the first man replied.

"And these ones I'm painting black," the third one said.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because King Zyuu Likes black roses," the second one said.

"King Ryuu like white roses," The first one explained. Luffy nodded hesitantly. Then she smiled.

"Can I help?" she asked. The men looked at each other, then at Luffy.

"Sure!" they all said. Luffy grabbed two paint brushes and began painting roses white and black. She laughed, slapping paint on each discolored rose.

Meanwhile, Sanji and Zoro were arguing.

"THE SIGNS HAVE ARROWS, HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO!?" Sanji yelled.

"BECAUSE 'THIS WAY' AND 'THAT WAY' ARE FUCKING HELPFUL DIRECTIONS!" Zoro yelled back.

"Uh, having trouble?" a voice said. The two looked at the sign to see a boy that resembled a cat. He was grinning down at them.

"Have you seen a girl? Brown hair, brown eyes, about this tall," Zoro described his captain. The boy jumped down.

"Oh! You must be friends of Luff. Yeah, I just sent her on her way to where she was going." He shrugged. "I'm Cheshire, by the way."

"Well, where did she go?" Sanji asked.

"Well, she took a wrong turn, went through a school, to Fredrick's house, a tea party, a forest, Absulin's place, my house, and now she should be in the Kings' garden," Cheshire recounted all he'd heard from the other inhabitants of Wonderland. "She's attending the 'big event.'" Cheshire chuckled, shaking his head.

"Big event?" Zoro asked.

"The wedding, of course! Everyone in Wonderland is talking about it." He shrugged. Sanji grabbed Cheshire by the shirt.

"Take us there. Where Luffy is," he demanded. Cheshire held up his hands.

"Calm down, I know a shortcut." Cheshire grinned. "I'll bring you right to that stupid girl." He laughed as he opened the tree passage.

Back at the garden, Luffy was sitting beside the card-men, who were bowing to the long line of people. Hare smiled at her, Hatter tipped his hat, Dormy yawed and waved, and Fredrick - who she hadn't met yet - introduced himself. The kids from the school were even there. The women from that horrible house, too. At the front, was a black carriage and a white carriage. They both opened and Zyuu and Ryuu came out.

"Ryuu! Zyuu!" Luffy waved at them. The Kings smiled at her.

"Welcome," they said at the same time. "Before the big event, would you like to play a game of croquet?" they both asked. Luffy shrugged, not having the faintest idea of what that was, but she was up for a game anytime. She watched some. The game was confusing, and the Kings were very competitive.

Luffy walked along the hedges.

"Psst! Hey! Luff!" She turned and saw a head.

"Chess! Why are you a head?" she asked.

"You can't tell but I'm shrugging. Anyway, I have two people here to see you!" He smiled, then, the sky opened and Cheshire poured into the garden with two other people that Luffy recognized instantly.

"Zoro! Sanji!" She smiled at the two before her.

"Luffy?" Ryuu walked over. "Who're you talking to?" he asked.

"Chess. Erm, Cheshire," she corrected. Cheshire waved.

"How do ya do, Princey?" He laughed. Ryuu's eye twitched. Zyuu came over next, tripping over Zoro and Sanji.

"And who are they?" he asked.

"Zoro and Sanji!" she said. Then, the two got up.

"And we're taking Luffy home," Sanji said. Zoro put Luffy's hat on her head.

"Let's go, Luffy," he said.

"Okay! Oh! Wait!" Luffy turned. "Chess!" She got the attention of the cat-boy. "Join my crew!" she said. Cheshire shook his head.

"Sorry, Luff. Sounds fun, but I'd miss screwing with Princey here." He laughed at Ryuu, who attempted to punch him. Luffy looked down sadly.

"Oh, alright."

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji started walking when two guards stopped them.

"Luffy will remain until her hand has been won! So says the Kings!" they recited. Ryuu and Zyuu both stood behind the three, they turned.

"Capture the two intruders," Ryuu said.

"Throw them in the dungeon," Zyuu added. Zoro nudged Luffy.

"In my bag is your Devil's Fruit," he whispered. Luffy slipped it out and ate it whole, gagging at the familiar, disgusting taste.

"Take them away!" the Kings demanded. The guards closed in.

"Luff!" Cheshire ran forward. "Grab on! Your friends, too!" he yelled. Luffy stretched her arm around Zoro and Sanji, then she grabbed Cheshire's hand.

And they disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Cheshire were back in the forest. Luffy smiled, stretching her arms, jumping off trees to find that none of it hurt. She smiled.

"My Devil's Fruit! Thank you!" She bounced around. Cheshire looked over his shoulder a few times.

"Geez, I've really done myself in now," he muttered. "Princey'll really kill me this time... why did I save you idiots!?" He pulled on his ears.

"Because that's what friends do!" Luffy smiled.

"Friends? You're just some stupid girl I met a few days ago! I thought I could... forget it." Cheshire sat on the ground.

"Thought you could what?" Sanji asked.

"So many girls come here, all led around by that stupid King. And you know what? They all end up with dead," Cheshire spat out.

"Dead?" Zoro asked.

"Every time! They never pass. I thought I could keep Luffy hidden until they gave up. When that didn't work, I thought, maybe, Luffy could pass their ridiculous test and it'd all be over." Then he glared at Zoro and Sanji. "Then you guys showed up!" he yelled. Zoro and Sanji glared at the cat-boy. Luffy watched, thinking about what to do next.

Luffy thought long and hard. Did this test have to do with the big event? She wasn't good at tests, yet Cheshire thought she could pass. She scratched the back of her head, glad that she had to shift her hand under her replaced hat. The test... she shook her head. Something else was bugging her. Cheshire was a cat. All the animals/people she had seen so far... a mouse, an owl, a squirrel, a hare, a bunny; they were all animals that reside in the woods. The people, they were all unusual. But Cheshire just seemed so out-of-place. He was a cat and cats were pets. Pets to people.

"Hey, Chess?" she asked. The boy stopped his pacing and cursing as he turned to Luffy.

"What?" he asked coldly.

"You're not from Wonderland, are you?" she inquired. Cheshire's eyes went wide.

"How -"

"You're very out-of-place," she said. "How did you get here, Chess? What have you been doing?" she asked. Cheshire sat.

"I guess... I guess I could tell you."

_**Cheshire's Flashback**_

___A boy ate a very strange fruit. He grew ears, a cat's tail and gained strange powers. He could disappear. He could make parts of his body invisible. But, he was a bit... too strange. His village rejected him. All except for one person, his big sister. He loved her. She had purple hair like him and loved the fact that her brother was part cat now._

___"Cheshire! You're just like a Cheshire cat now!" She would laugh at the irony that came with him being named after a cat. He would laugh along with her, and they laughed as the villagers turned them away. His sister didn't seem to mind._

___"I'm sorry, Nori," Cheshire mumbled. Nori shook her head._

___"No, Chess! It's alright. Come on! I have a surprise." She dragged her little brother to the beach._

___Cheshire and Nori stared at the boat that was floating in the shallow water._

___"What's that?" he asked._

___"It's a boat, stupid brother." Nori laughed._

___"I know that! What's it for?" he asked._

___"To set sail, of course. If this village doesn't want us here, then we'll just leave." She ended that sentence with a mischievous wink. Cheshire smiled. The siblings hopped into the boat, not knowing where they were going, but they were together, and that's what mattered._

___Cheshire kicked rocks as he walked down the shore of the deserted island he had run away to. At least, he thought it was deserted. A few days later, while the boy and his sister were sleeping on the sand, a boat pulled onto the shore. He jumped up, ears flattened at the noise._

___"Chess? What's up?" Nori rolled over and looked at a man who was walking towards them. He was wearing a butler's uniform and had dark black hair. Cheshire hissed. Something wasn't right. The mans eyes fell on Nori._

___"What beauty!" He smiled. Nori looked around, confused._

___"Me?" she asked._

___"Of course!" The man walked forward. Cheshire jumped in front of him, hissing with his ears pressed against his head. The man glared down, kicking him aside._

___"Chess!" Nori jumped up and ran over to her brother, but the man blocked her path with his foot. She tried to stop but she was running too fast. She tripped, falling into his open arms._

___Cheshire shook his head and looked to see the man getting into the boat with his sister._

___"Nori!" he yelled, running after them, the boat was a little ways into the water. Cheshire stopped. His Devil's Fruit - he couldn't swim. He shook his head. Cheshire ran back and then shot forward, jumping as far as he could, landing on the edge of the boat and trying to claw his way up. Nori was unconscious now, laying still on the boat. "Nori! Hey! Wake up!" Cheshire clawed at the boat's side. The man turned around._

___"How rude," he muttered, plucking the young Cheshire's hands off the boat. The cat boy fell into the water. He kicked and screamed for help, but nothing seemed to work. He sunk down into the water, watching the bottom of the boat sail away._

___Cheshire felt a pull before he slipped out of consciousness. His still, hammer-like body was sucked into a large, powerful, whirlpool. When he came to, he was on a different beach. He looked around. Was it all a dream?_

___"Nori?" He coughed up water. No, not a dream. His side was bruised and his head hurt. So that means..._

___Nori was gone._

___"What is it?" a voice said._

___"It looks like a boy," another said._

___"But it could be a cat!" The first voice laughed. Cheshire turned to see two identical twins. ____They yelped and jumped back._

___"Who're you guys?" Cheshire asked._

___"I-I'm Tweedle D.," one said._

___"And I'm Tweedle D. Dum," The other grinned nervously. Cheshire stood, shaking water from his hair and tail._

___"Well, I'll have you know I'm a both a boy and a cat!" he spat, walking by the twins who followed._

___"That's amazing!" Tweedle D. said._

___"Thanks," Cheshire muttered, walking faster._

___"Where are you going?" Tweedle D. Dum asked._

___"To find Nori!" Cheshire said. The twins popped in front of him and clicked their tongues. They were looking at each other, then back at Cheshire._

___"Can't let you do that!" they said. Cheshire glared, then he smirked and disappeared. The boys started panicking._

___Cheshire left them to search for him as he ran by past a garden, where he reappeared. The flowers talked to him. He convinced them he was a "cat tail," some plant he had encountered before. They told them they saw Nori just moments ago. She was heading north. They pointed Cheshire in the right direction._

___"Thank you!" Cheshire ran away._

___"What a nice flower," a flower sighed._

___"And he was so adorable!" Some of the flowers giggled as they watched Cheshire run into the forest._

___Cheshire ran to a house with a rabbit sitting outside._

___"Hello!" he yelled._

___"Hello to you!" The rabbit waved, then twitched his nose in irritation._

___"A cat?" he muttered._

___"No. I mean, yes. I mean - forget it. I'm Cheshire," Cheshire said._

___"Well, I'm Fredrick and I do not welcome cats! Now, run along! I only have a certain time to relax before the big event!" Fredrick waved a dismissive hand._

___"Have you seen a girl?" Cheshire asked._

___"I have. She went that way. Now, go! Go! I have wasted enough time!" Fredrick pointed in a random direction. Cheshire clicked his tongue in annoyance and stomped off._

___After, he went past a gate where two people were having a tea party. He stopped to look at them._

___"- ah yes! The big event is sure to be something this time!" The orange-haired rabbit man poured a cup of tea. The man across from him, who had a large top hat, nodded._

___"Yes, yes!" Then he saw Cheshire. "You there! Boy! Are you going to he big event?" He waved. Cheshire looked around, then walked over, sitting down next to a sleeping boy._

___"I'm not sure. Where is it?" he asked, since it was becoming obvious his sister was going to be there. The men nodded._

___"It's in the Kings Garden. Right, Hatter?" the orange-haired one said. The other one – Hatter, Cheshire noted - nodded._

___"That's right, Hare! Just past Absulin's place and the Duchess's house." He nodded to himself. Cheshire nodded._

___"Thanks, Hatter, Hare." He started walking away._

___"Wait! Boy! What's your name?" they called after him._

___"I'm Cheshire!" Cheshire yelled back as he ran away._

___Cheshire huffed. He had looked everywhere! He grabbed some water from a nearby stream and drunk it down. He yelled when he started shrinking. The boy looked up. Everything was bigger. He walked around._

___"Who are you?" a voice breathed. Cheshire felt a cloud of smoke hit his face. He looked up at a caterpillar-like man who was sitting on a mushroom._

___"Cheshire," Cheshire answered. Then he sucked up some smoked. "Who are you?" he asked, blowing out the rings of smoke._

___"Absulin," the caterpillar-man stated._

___"Have you seen my sister?" Cheshire asked._

___"You mean that foolish girl who followed the King?"_

___"I guess so."_

___"Then, she went, that way."_

___"It'll take forever for me to get over there at this size!"_

___"Then eat this." Absulin tossed a piece of the mushroom at Cheshire._

___"What's this?"_

___"Just eat it, foolish cat." Cheshire glared and ate it. Then he grew._

___"Whoa!" He smiled, reaching down to pick up Absulin. "Thanks a bunch!" The little boy smiled. Absulin wriggled around._

___"Dandy, now put me down," he said in a bored tone. Cheshire dropped Absulin in his shirt pocket._

___"I will, just help me out first. You seem like you know a lot." The cat-like boy smiled. Absulin blew a tiny puff of smoke into his face._

___"Very well..."_

___Cheshire was lost. He had no clue as to where he was going. He was sitting on a branch, leaning against the tree trunk._

___"Good job, kid." Absulin yawned. Cheshire looked down and saw that a door had opened into a tree. He walked through and looked around. "Welcome to the King's Garden." Absulin breathed out some more smoke._

___"Wow... is Nori here?" Cheshire asked._

___"She should be." Absulin yawned again, shifting in Cheshire's pocket. Cheshire nodded. He peered past a hedge and saw Nori. She was wearing a blue dress and playing a game of some sort. Cheshire smiled. He jumped out from the trees._

___"Nori!" he yelled._

___"What are you doing!? You'll get -" Before Absulin could finish that sentence, Cheshire was pushed to the ground._

___"Chess!?" Nori was running over, but was stopped by that man from earilier and another man. Cheshire winced in pain._

___"Who're they?" he hissed._

___"Ryuu and Zyuu, the Kings," Absulin muttered back. Cheshire was lifted up._

___"What should we do with him?" a guard asked._

___"The dungeon." Ryuu smiled Cheshire was carried away._

___"Nori!" Cheshire struggled._

___"Chess! Let my brother go!" Nori yelled, trying to push past the guards. Cheshire looked back at her._

___"It seems you're too attached. I had hopes for you," Ryuu said. A loud shot rang out. Everything went silent as Cheshire watched his sister fall back and lay still. He yelled but no sound came out. He was carried away._

___In the cell, he cried._

___"Cheshire..." Absulin didn't know what to say. After days of nonstop crying, Cheshire decided to escape._

___"Hey, Absulin..." Cheshire said with a dry throat._

___"Yeah?"_

___"I think I'll stay in Wonderland." And, with that sentence, Cheshire disappeared. The Kings tried to find him, calling him a thief and a troublemaker. He fell into care under the Duchess. It wasn't the best home, but Cheshire came to love it in Wonderland. He loved it. He knew everything about Wonderland, and he tried his best to mess with Ryuu as much as possible. It was his way of revenge._


	7. Chapter 7

Cheshire had his back to the group.

"I see..." Sanji blew out a puff of smoke. Zoro looked up.

"What a screwed-up place," he muttered. "What now, Luffy?" Zoro looked over towards her. The space where Luffy had been seated was now empty. "Oi! Luffy?" Zoro stood up. Sanji looked over.

"AH! Stupid marimo! Where's Luffy-chan!?" Sanji yelled.

"How would I know!? She was right there!" Zoro yelled back. Cheshire's ears perked up at the conversation. He turned around.

"She didn't," he muttered.

"What?" Sanji asked. Zoro sighed.

"I think we're thinking the same thing," he said.

"So wait? You're telling me, Luffy went..." Sanji pointed back down to the path that lead to the portal they had come through.

"Damn!" Cheshire yelled. He started running to the portal. "We have to stop her!" he shouted, jumping to the portal with Zoro and Sanji on his heels.

Luffy stomped into the garden. It was empty. Her eyes blazed with anger. She looked around at the white roses. The black roses. The empty courtyard, the abandoned game. She clenched her fists.

"HEY! COME OUT! RYUU! ZYUU!" she commanded. No one came. There was a cough somewhere far off, though. She walked that way. "Hello?" She turned a corner.

"Help," someone coughed. Luffy looked in the bushes.

"Ah! It's you! The Duchess!" Luffy helped the old woman up. The woman smiled.

"Yes I am, it's splendid to see you again. How's my boy?" she asked.

"That baby? It turned into a pig." Luffy laughed. The woman chuckled.

"I thought it might," she said. Her face was pale and her eyes looked heavy.

"Are you alright?" Luffy asked.

"I'm afraid not. I seem to have over-exerted myself."

"What happened?"

"The Kings."

"Ryuu and Zyuu?"

"I tried my best to help you children. Chessy has been so good to me." She paused to cough and then shook her head. "When you escaped..."

******Flashback**

___The kids disappeared. Ryuu let out an angry shout._

_"____After them! Where did they go!? Damn that cat!" he yelled. Zyuu turned._

_"____Who does that cat belong to!?" he yelled. No one replied. "GUARDS!" Zyuu shouted. The ____guards scrambled up._

_"____Yes, your Highness?" they stuttered._

_"____Whose cat was that?" Ryuu asked._

_"____Th-that would be the Duchess's," a guard said timidly._

_"____IS THE DUCHESS HERE!?" Zyuu yelled. Everyone looked around. The Duchess was gone. Ryuu crossed his arms, walking with his brother to the palace._

_"____Find her," he commanded._

___The Duchess had heard every word. She had hidden herself in a bush and held her breath as the kings and the guards ran by. Once they were gone, she breathed in._

___"Oh, Chessy," she muttered. "You were talking non-stop about that girl, but to go this far..." She shook her head sadly. The woman stood and tried to quietly float away, levitating down the familiar pathway. Her plan was to go to the poorer part of Wonderland and gather some rebels. Rise up. "She's like your sister, isn't she?" The Duchess smiled at the sky._

_"____There!" someone yelled._

_"____Oh dear!" The Duchess levitated faster forward. She floated along, the guards closing in on her. She heard shots as bullets whizzed by her body. She tripped somehow and fell face-first onto the ground where she was promptly surrounded._

___Ryuu and Zyuu stood in front of her._

_"____Well, well, well. Your cat has been causing trouble," Ryuu said._

_"____My apologies, your Highness. You see, I am an old woman. He is a teenager. He's very independent and can't watch him like I used to," the Duchess said._

_"____That's no excuse!" Zyuu replied tartly._

_"____My precious Luffy," Ryuu whined._

_"____Yours!?" Zyuu glared._

_"____Yes, mine!" Ryuu challenged. The Duchess snuck away, leaving two men to bicker. She laid in the bushes for quite some time._

******Flashback End**

Luffy nodded.

"I see." Luffy looked to the palace. "And they're over there right now?" she asked.

"I believe so," the Duchess said. "Oh, but child! You're not thinking of - um, child?" The Duchess looked around. Again, Luffy was gone.

**Zoro, Sanji and Chess**

The trio had moved silently through the garden and maze. The sky seemed more gray than before, as if it were about to rain.

"Damn... we can't call for her." Cheshire pressed his back against a large statue in the palaces courtyard.

"Why are we here?" Sanji asked, watching the patrolling guards.

"Because they're bound to catch her, and when they do, they'll bring her here," Cheshire assured them.

"Alright," Sanji said, then turned. "Ah..." His eyes narrowed at the empty space.

"THAT IDIOT!" Sanji shouted as he stared at the space Zoro once occupied.

"SHUT UP!" Cheshire yelled. Shadows suddenly cast over the two. Before Cheshire could react, handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists and he fell from the weakening power of the sea stone. Sanji stood to fight. The Kings of Wonderland laughed.

"We caught one and now the other," Zyuu said. Ryuu nodded in agreement. They attacked Sanji. Everything went by so fast, Sanji could barley keep up. A blinding light flashed.

"Who are you guys?" Sanji breathed.

Then everything went black.

**Luffy and Zoro**

Luffy was walking through the maze. She was lost, but she was sure she had been heading to the palace.

"Oi! Luffy!" someone was yelling for her.

"Hello!?" Luffy yelled.

"Luffy?" The voice was coming from the other side of the hedge that was next to her.

"Yes?" she inquired, curious now.

"It's me!"

"Who?"

"Zoro."

"Haaa! Zoro!" Luffy smiled, putting her hands against the hedge. On the other side, Zoro smirked.  
"Yeah yeah, move back, I'm slicing my way through," Zoro said. Luffy stood back and smiled as the metal sound of his swords sliced at the large bush.

Zoro and Luffy were walking now.

"So, where were you going?" Zoro asked.

"The palace!" Luffy grinned.

"What!? Why?" he asked.

"Because! I'm gonna kick the Kings' butts!" Luffy smiled. Zoro nodded in understanding of his captain's antics.

"I see," he said. Luffy nodded. "You know, Sanji and Cheshire went to the palace as well," he said.

"Oh! Let's go meet up with them!" Luffy pulled her first mate along.

"Be quiet!" Zoro growled as they came closer to the courtyard. "And be careful," Zoro said after getting the strange feeling they were being watched.

******Sanji and Cheshire**

Cheshire laid against the wall of the familiar cell. Sanji struggled against the chains that kept him pinned loosely against the wall.

"Sorry, I didn't think they had something like this." Cheshire lifted his hands slightly to show the sea stone hand cuffs.

"Sea stone. All Devil's-Fruit users' weakness is sea stone," Sanji grumbled. Cheshire nodded, not sure what it was but understanding that he was powerless now.

"I could make us disappear, and we could sneak out like I did last time," Cheshire muttered. "But these damn cuffs." Sanji shook his head.

"You've done all you could. The only thing we can do now is wait until that stupid marimo finds us or for the guards come down to get us and we attack," Sanji planned. Cheshire looked up at his from his spot on the floor.

"Sounds like a plan," the cat-boy said. He brought his hands up and started biting the chain that held the cuffs together. His naturally sharp teeth made tiny dents in the hard material. Sanji kicked back at the wall, making a successful crack next to where his feet were chained. The boys smiled at each other, and continued to escape, little by little.

******Zoro and Luffy**

Zoro sliced down another guard as Luffy took down another pack of guards. She smiled.

"It feels good to have power again!" she cheered. "Makes me wanna let loose!" She smiled. Zoro chuckled as they walked past the unconscious guards to the tower. He stood on guard, still having the feeling that they were being watched. Luffy let out a surprised gasp.

"What?" Zoro said.

"Look, Zoro!" Luffy held up a drink that read "Drink me." Zoro scowled at the tiny bottle. He looked at his captain's smiling face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a mystery bottle! I've had some before. It makes you grow or shrink." Luffy smiled. "If we drink it, we could grow, and bust the castle down!" she exclaimed excitedly. Zoro shook his head.

"I don't think we should drink it," he said.

"Don't be stupid, Zoro!" Luffy popped the bottle open and drank half, tossing it to Zoro. Zoro rolled the bottle in his hands. He shrugged, sipping some of the liquid himself. His face twisted in disgust.

"This is..." Zoro's eyes widened as Luffy fell over. "Sea water! Oi! Luffy!" Zoro knelt next to her as she coughed.

Zoro looked around as Luffy desperately tried to spit out the sea water. His eyes fell on Ryuu and Zyuu, who were smirking at him. Zoro took out his swords, standing in front of Luffy and glaring.

"Oh, very protective." Zyuu chuckled.

"A bit too protective." Ryuu glared.

"I agree," Zyuu said. The two walked forward, keeping in-step with one another, making them seem more powerful. More frightening. Zoro charged them and they dodged.

"Damn." Zoro spun around only to be met with a blinding light. He felt weak and in pain when his vision cleared. "Luf...fy," he mumbled before falling to the ground.

His world went black.

******Zoro Sanji and Cheshire**

"Oi." Zoro felt a foot nudge him as an uninviting voice called out to him. He lazily opened one eye and saw Sanji leaning over him with a look of disgust on his face. Zoro glared back up.

"What?" Zoro sat up.

"Where's Luff?" Zoro looked over. Cheshire was gnawing on his handcuffs.

"Oh, right!" Zoro stood up and reached for his swords. They weren't there. He cursed and went up to the cage bars. "Oi!" he yelled.

"Quiet!" a guard yelled, coming over.

"Where's that girl?" Sanji asked.

"Oh, you mean Luffy-sama?" The guard got a dreamy look in his eyes. "The Kings sure are lucky. They should be having the wedding any time now. I wish I could attend." He sighed. Sanji kicked the bars.

"WEDDING!?" he yelled.

"Of course. Luffy-sama is the destined Queen of Wonderland," the guard explained.

"Luffy will be the Pirate King," Zoro growled.

"She has no choice in this." The guard walked away.

Sanji kicked at the bars, engulfed in fire.

"We have to hurry!" Cheshire said, chewing until his cuffs slipped off. He stood and put his hands at the bars. He fell.

"Careful, those are sea stone too." Zoro pulled Cheshire away. Cheshire staggered up.

"We have to stop the wedding! Luff will be stuck here," he said.

"But how?" Sanji snarled, up for anything.

"Just follow me." Cheshire held out his hands. "And hold on," he said. Then he disappeared.

******Luffy**

Luffy struggled against the chains her arms and legs were stuck to. The sea stone was wearing away at her power. She glared at the men in front of her. Ryuu and Zyuu were wearing opposite tuxedos and smiling at her. Luffy was wearing a white dress and a veil over her face.

"Do you, Kings of Wonderland, take Monkey. D. Luffy to be your Queen?" the minister asked. The men smiled.

"We do," they said.

"Very good, my Kings. Now, do you, Monkey D. Luffy, take the Kings of Wonderland to be your Kings?" the Minister asked.

"No way in hell!" Luffy yelled.

"She does," the guard next to her said. Luffy scowled. She shifted in the heels that were forced on her feet.

"Then, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you, Kings and Qu -"

A large explosion filled the garden and the bushes and roses were engulfed in fire.

"******WHO THE HELL,**" a voice roared as a figure walked from the flames, "******THINKS THEY COULD JUST SWOOP IN -**" another rose bush burst into flames "**- ********AND MARRY MY SISTER!?**" A man appeared from the flames, his orange hat on his head and his black hair darkened in the flames. Luffy looked over, flipping the veil from her face. She smiled.

"Ace-onii-chan!" Luffy grinned.


	8. Chapter 8

Ace strode down the aisle. He burned the chairs, sending the guests running.

"Oi, oi. Having a wedding and not inviting the big brother?" He growled. Ryuu nodded at Zyuu and he went to take Luffy away when a wall of fire appeared in front of him. "Don't. Touch. Her." Ace spit out each menacing word. Ace walked and grabbed a dropped sword, unchaining Luffy. Luffy threw her arms around her brother.

"Ace! Ace!" She cheered.

"Hey, Luffy." He picked up his sister. "You know, I knew you'd get married at some point. Just not like this." He chuckled.

"I said no, but I guess that means yes here." Luffy rolled her eyes. Ace smiled.

"Let's get outta here," he said.

"What about Zoro? Sanji and Cheshire, too!" Luffy said. Ace scowled. "Don't be like that, Ace! We have to save them!" She tugged on his hat. Ace nodded.

"Let's go." Luffy swung herself down, ripping the bottom of her wedding dress so she could move more freely.

"Yeah!" She ran along with her brother.

Sanji and Zoro ran up the stairs of the dungeon with Cheshire.

"Sorry, I'm still a bit weak. I couldn't get farther than this." The cat boy sighed. Zoro and Sanji nodded.

"It's fine. You tried," Sanji said. Zoro shushed them.

"Someone's coming," Zoro muttered. Cheshire disappeared. A voice spoke.

"Oi, did you hear that?" it hissed. Zoro listened. The voice sounded familiar, but from where, Zoro wasn't sure. Sanji was thinking the same - he knew the voice, just couldn't place the face.

"Maybe it's the guards," another voice answered. Cheshire's ears perked up.

"Luff?" he called. Zoro walked faster up the stairs. He turned a corner and saw Ace and Luffy standing on the steps, Ace in his usual clothes and Luffy in a ripped up wedding dress. The girl smiled.

"Zoro!" She hug-tackled her first mate. Zoro stiffened when he felt Ace send him a glare. Sanji came up next and Luffy jumped to him as well. "Sanji!" She smiled when she pulled away Sanji looked at Luffy in her white dress and veil that was flipped over her head.

"An angel?" Sanji drooled over Luffy. Luffy laughed.

"Sanji's so weird." She spun to face an empty area. Luffy wrapped her arms around what looked like air.

"Oi, oi," Ace said. "What on earth are you doing, Luffy?" Ace asked.

"Chess! You don't have to hide!" She shook the air. Ace watched as a boy that resembled a cat slowly materialized in Luffy's arms.

"Glad you're safe," Cheshire said, slipping out of Luffy's hold. The purple-haired boy glanced to Ace, who was glaring at him. Cheshire shrugged it off. "Anyway," he started, "let's get going."

Later, the five were running through the Palace.

"I need my hat!" Luffy had exclaimed.

"And my swords," Zoro had agreed. Now they were running through, passing door after door. Luffy looked around. A thought came to her so she looked at her brother.

"Oi! Ace-onii-chan!" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"How'd you get here?" she asked. Ace started his story.

"Well, I was sailing along, when I saw your jolly roger."

******Ace's Flashback**

___Ace leaned back in his one-person boat. He winced when his sensitive spot stung as he hit the side of the small ship. The gash in his stomach was from when his sister saved him from execution. He was better and could fight as long as he was careful of that spot for the next month or so. He sighed, sitting forward and staring out at the sea. He squinted. Anchored near what seemed to be a whirlpool was a pirate ship. He grabbed his telescope to view the ship. He smiled._

_"____Ah!" His eyes fell on the skull wearing a straw hat. He jumped up. "Oi!" He waved his hands and started his boat. "Oi Luffy!" he yelled._

___He looked up at the ship. It was different than the last time he saw it. It was bigger with a large "0" on the side. The heading was different too, as was the crow's nest. He looked around._

_"____Oi! Luffy! It's me!" He yelled up. He waited and heard a noise, so he focused his attention on the rim of the ship, holding out his arms at the rushed steps, bracing himself for his sisters tackle-hug. But instead, his eyes met with eye holes. Ace looked up at the skeleton that was staring down at him. It had a big bushy afro and a hat. "U-Um." Ace felt sweat roll down his forehead. The skeleton continued to stare._

_"____May I ask who's calling for my captain?" the skeleton inquired. Ace stared up at it._

_"____Did you just - I mean, um." Ace stuttered, looking around, surely it wasn't that skeleton talking to him._

_"____Who are you?" Ace was staring at the skeleton now. He had definitely spoken. Ace was sure. There was a long moment of silence._

_"____WHAT THE HELL!?" Ace fell back into the water._

___Later, Ace was on a the ship now, in the kitchen, wrapped in a towel. He grinned at Usopp._

_"____Thanks," he said._

_"____No problem," Usopp said, setting down a cup of coffee. Ace looked around._

_"____Where's that cook?" he asked._

_"____Sanji?" Usopp sighed, looking out the window. "He hasn't come back yet," he said. Ace nodded in confusion. Then he got up._

_"____I'm gonna look around." He waved toward Usopp, leaving the kitchen. He stopped when he ____saw that little reindeer. Chopper, was it?_

_"____Yo." He waved. The little brown ball of fur turned around and smiled._

_"____Oh! Luffy's brother!" he said. "We saw you drowning!" he said._

_"____Oh, yes! Terribly sorry!" Ace turned and saw the skeleton he learned was named Brook._

_"____Uh, no worries. I was just surprised, that's all," he said._

_"____I was surprised when I saw that you fell, though I have no eyes. Yohohoho!" Brook laughed. Ace chuckled and continued on his way._

___He was down below the ship now._

_"____Oi! Luffy!" he called. He opened the door to see a large man in a shirt and something that resembled a bathing suit. The man turned around, Ace could now see his face more clearly._

_"____Yo! You must be Luffy-aneki's brother!" He waved. "I'm Franky." The man continued to work._

_"____Who?"_

_"____Luffy-aneki's shipwright," Franky explained. Ace's eye twitched._

_"____And you have no pants on because...?"_

_"____Because he's a pervert." Nami had come down the stairs, handing a glass to Franky who had broke out laughing. Ace shook his head. What a strange crew his sister had. And his sister was no where to be found, too._

___Ace scowled. Unfortunately, there were only two people who would know where Luffy was. That perverted cook, and the troublesome swordsman. Sanji and Zoro. Sanji was no where to be found and Ace was making his way to where he assumed the first mate would be - keeping watch. He pushed up into the crow's nest. It was impressive and there was training gear everywhere. Giant weights and wooden swords._

_"____Hey! Zoro!" Ace yelled, no one. He growled. Something was wrong. He slid back down the ladder, walking quickly to the captains quarters. He opened the door. Luffy wasn't there. The room was empty, the bed was made and hadn't been slept in. There was no mess of papers and wanted posters on the desk, no empty plates and cups anywhere. Where was Luffy? Ace ran up the stairs and into the navigating and steering room where everyone was gathered._

_"____Luffy?" he called. The crew looked back at him, their expressions saddened._

_"____Ace-san, you might want to sit down," Robin said, pulling out a book._

___Ace listened intently. He sat back, letting it sink in. Luffy was kidnapped, Zoro and Sanji went after her to save her before she was forced into marriage. That last word. Marriage. He shot up._

_"____WHAT!?" he yelled, they all flinched at his flaming anger._

_"____That's right. Luffy's in danger!" Nami said, getting an idea that might speed this along. "I doubt those Kings will let her go. Zoro and Sanji might not be strong enough." Nami sighed. Usopp got the idea._

_"____Y-yeah! You should've heard that guy, sweet talking Luffy like that." Usopp shook his head. Chopper was the only one who didn't get it. Robin smiled knowingly and Franky was confused, as was Brook._

_"____What? Why are you all making light of this!? Luffy's being forced to marry someone she ____doesn't like!" Chopper said. Ace was fuming. His sister. HIS baby sister. __****__HIS LUFFY. ____Ace stomped out the door, making burn marks on the grass on the deck._

_"____WHERE!" he demanded._

_"____Right this way." Robin pointed at the whirl pool. Ace tipped his hat over his eyes. He knew something was wrong. He knew it from when he saw Luffy's ship sitting motionless in the water. He knew it from the lack of noise. He knew it from the lack of greeting. He didn't think it would be this._

___Ace dove into the whirlpool and the crew watched as he was pulled down. Ace looked around the hole he was falling down. He scowled, looking at the many pictures of his sister that lined the walls. He set fire to the hall he walked through, burned the doors down, lit the forest ablaze, and stood at the garden gates._

_"____Time to kick ass," he growled, pushing the gates open._

******Ace's Flashback End**

Luffy nodded. Cheshire looked around, he shushed them.

"This way." He waved his hand to a door in the stairwell. He pushed it open and glanced out. The guards were rushing around. They seemed stronger than the other guards. Two were standing, swords crossed in front of a door. Cheshire looked back and pointed. "There, that's were Luff's hat and Zoro's swords should be," he said.

"Good! Let's go!" Luffy ran to the door, only to be stopped by Ace.

"Not yet, Luffy... all those guards, they'd catch you in no time," he said. Cheshire nodded.

"That's true." He let the door slip shut. "Alright, everyone grab ahold of me. I don't have much power still so I can't get us far. One of us will have to distract them." Cheshire scowled at the idea.

"I'll go," Ace said.

"No!" Luffy hugged her brother. "We can make it!" she reassured everyone. Ace shook his head.

"Luffy. You saved me once, let me save you." He smiled. He pried Luffy off of him, looked back at Zoro and Sanji. "Take care of her," he said. Then he pushed the door open and the hallway was engulfed in flames as Ace fought the stronger guards.

Luffy was pulled with Sanji, Zoro and Cheshire as the invisible team made their way to the closed room. The four reappeared when Cheshire's power drained again. They opened the door and rushed inside, going unnoticed thanks to Ace.

"Ace..." Luffy sighed. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's keep moving," Zoro suggested. Luffy nodded glumly.

"Yeah." She looked at the big double doors. The four looked at each other. "My hat!" Luffy pushed the doors open. The four rushed in. Zoro saw Luffy's hat on an illuminated panel and Zoro's swords were in a case against the wall. Sanji flicked a switch. The lights came on. Luffy looked around the large room. The floor was the color of the sea, the walls had trees painted all over and the bed was large and luxurious. There was an empty vase and a picture of Luffy on a desk. Luffy ignored it. "My hat!" she exclaimed again, rushing to the panel. She grabbed the hat and smiled.

"Alright, let's go," Zoro said after breaking the case and retrieving his swords.

Luffy turned and the lights went off again.

"Sanji? Why'd you turn them off?" Luffy asked.

"He didn't." Cheshire hissed at a uninviting smell that drifted through. "Luff! Get to Zoro!" he yelled. Luffy turned to her friend and rushed over.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

"Cover your eyes!" Cheshire called.

"What?" Sanji closed his eyes. As did Zoro and Cheshire. Luffy, confused, watched as the room was filled with a blinding light. She staggered and fell back onto the fluffy bed.

"Wh - I can't... Every... one?" She felt her consciousness escape her. She fell limp on the bed, muttering in her sleep.

The boys opened there eyes when the lights came back on, only to see Luffy laying on the bed and Ryuu and Zyuu seated next to her.

"Glad we thought ahead." Ryuu chuckled as the minister continued reading.

"You may now kiss the bride," he said.

"WAIT!" the three yelled, rushing forward, only to hit something hard and solid.

"What?" Zoro hit the glass. It was a screen. He reached for his swords, again, not there. He saw them strapped to Zyuu's belt.

"Damn it all!" Cheshire shouted as Ryuu and Zyuu kissed their Queen.


	9. Chapter 9

Luffy woke up in a haze. She shifted. What happened? She moved her hands and she found she was chained. She opened her eyes fully. She was in a chair facing a large field. She shook the weariness from her head, examining herself. She was wearing a large red and black dress. She felt her head,. Instead of the scratchy straw hat, she found a gold and red and black crown sitting atop her head. She saw a diamond ring on her finger. She looked out at the field and saw Ryuu and Zyuu standing on either end. They were wearing shiny armor and had swords in hand. She looked around, peering out of the large chair she was seated in, there were guards standing on either side of her.

"Hello," she said softly, sleep clouding her voice.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." One of the guards bowed.

"You've slept through the night, my Queen. We were concerned." The other bowed. Luffy was confused, but pushed it away.

"My friends; where are my friends?" she asked. The first guard stood tall.

"Those four? You won't have to worry about them anymore," he said. Then he pointed to the other side of the field. Luffy looked over and saw Ace, Zoro, Sanji, and Cheshire, they were in a large cage all knocked out. Luffy gasped.

The guards watched Luffy's reaction with questionable gazes.

"Is something wrong?" One asked. Luffy wanted to scream and shout at the guards to bring her friends and brother here. But that wouldn't do any good.

"No, nothing..." she muttered, slumping back into the seat. "What are your names?" she asked the guards. She really looked at them now. They both had light blue hair and matching eyes and they wore tight, black long-sleeved shirts that showed their arm muscles and a red vest over their chests. On their head, they had a red helmet and stood with their arms behind their backs and a sword strapped on the hem of their black pants.

"I am Kitaro," one guard said, bowing.

"And I am Kiero." The other bowed. Luffy nodded. "We are your loyal guards," Kiero said. Luffy smiled at them.

"I see!" She tugged at the chains. "Can you let me go?" she asked.

"As you wish." Kitaro unchained her and Luffy leaned over the balcony to get a better look at what Ryuu and Zyuu were doing. There was a person in the middle of the field now, holding a flag high into the air.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"They are fighting for you, my Queen," Kiero explained.

"Me?" Luffy pointed to herself.

"Yes, Your Highness. You're married to those two, now they must battle to the death to see which one will remain as your husband," Kitaro said.

"What!? Married? Battle to the death?" Luffy leaned a bit farther.

"Be careful, Your Majesty!" Kitaro yelled as Luffy leaned a bit to far and toppled over the edge of the balcony.

Zoro and Ace, both being light sleepers, were awaken by Luffy's scream. They looked to the other side of a large field and saw two guards, differently dressed apart from the others, dangling off the side of the balcony. One had an arm around Luffy's waist and the other held his foot while his feet clung to the balcony.

"OI! OI! LUFFY!" Ace yelled. Luffy looked up and the crown on her head tipped and toppled over onto the grass below, hitting the ground with a loud clang. Zoro waved too, and a smile spread across Luffy's face.

"Ha! ZORO! ACE!" She pulled back her arm and stretched it to the cage on the other side. The surprise on the guards face was visible, even to the men in the cage.

The guards looked at one another, then at their Queen.

"Um, Your Majesty?" Kitaro felt sweat roll down his face as he tightened is grip around her waist.

"Call me Luffy!" She smiled at her guards and pulled herself across the field, her guards let out surprised shouts as they flew over Ryuu and Zyuu's head. The two looked up, annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Um, Luffy-sama..." Kiero pointed down at the Kings when they were on the same side as Ace, Zoro, Sanji, and Cheshire.

"I think we should watch the ceremony," Kitaro said. Luffy looked to her brother and first mate. She sighed.

"I-I don't want to! Kiero! Kitaro!" she whined. The guards froze up, unsure on what to do. Kitaro shook the confusion from his head, grabbing Luffy's hand.

"My apologies, Luffy-sama," he said, pulling her away. Ace banged on the cage.

"HEY! LET HER GO!" he shouted.

"Ace!" Luffy tugged, stretching to the cage and grabbing it. Kitaro tightened his grip as Luffy's power drained thanks to the sea stone cage. Kitaro was now walking faster, leaving Kiero.

Zoro and Ace fixed their glares on Kiero. The young guard flinched, then composed himself.

"L-Luffy-sama can have nothing to do with you four! You will be executed in three days' time! So says the Kings!" Kiero saluted.

"Let us go or I'll cut you to pieces!" Zoro growled, making the young boy flinch again.

"I-I can't! Not even if Luffy-sama were to order me to do so!" he stated. By this time, Sanji had awaken from the noise.

"Where -" He was cut off by Ace's growl.

"Explain what happened!" he demanded.

"Luffy-sama married the kings. They must battle to the death for her hand!" Kiero said. Sanji slammed himself against the bars.

"WHAT!?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry! There's nothing you can do!" Kiero turned and began following the direction where Luffy's shouting and protesting and Kitaro's nervous voice were coming from.

Zoro thought of something.

"What if I fought for her hand?" he questioned. That made Kiero stop.

"Me too!" Sanji said.

"W-well, that's... uh," Kiero stammered. Ace wondered how a timid child like this got to be a Queen's guard. "The Kings won't allow it!" he said, walking off. Zoro cursed and he looked over at Cheshire, who was still asleep. Ace nudged the small boy.

"Huh?" Cheshire yawned. "Where are we? Luff?" He looked around hazily.

"What can we do?" Sanji asked.

"What?" Cheshire rubbed his eyes.

"You live here, you know the rules. How can we stop this?" Ace said, motioning to the battle that was about to take place. Cheshire understood, he shook his head.

"You can't stop this, but, there might be time," he said.

"Time?" Zoro asked.

"Yes. After the battle there will be a second wedding. For the new King and Queen," Cheshire explained. The three nodded.

"So we'll have to wait until then..." Sanji muttered.

"We have three days to live," Ace growled, reminding them of the execution date.

"Damn," Cheshire growled. Then he stood, "That's the day after the final wedding!" he said. Zoro grinned.

"Then there is time," he announced. The four sat around, ignoring the battle commencing below.

Luffy sat, arms crossed in her throne. She was clearly angry with her two guards and they stood nervously.

"Um, Luffy-sama? Don't you want to watch the battle? Take your mind off things?" Kitaro suggested. Luffy made a defiant noise. The two boys sighed. Luffy stood and watched over the edge again. The battle had started. The battle that would decide her future. She clenched her fists.

"This is stupid," she muttered into her arms as Kiero placed her crown back on her head.

Down below, the battle was intense. Ryuu sliced at Zyuu and Zyuu jumped and flipped in the air, landing behind Ryuu and slashing back at his brother. Ryuu turned and blocked the swing with his own sword.

"Hasty, aren't we," Ryuu grinned.

"Just fighting for what's mine," Zyuu retorted, jumping back and thrusting his sword at Ryuu's stomach. The white haired brother dodged and swung, giving Zyuu a gash on his arm. Zyuu spun and sliced a cut in Ryuu's lower leg. Both brothers hopped back, preparing for another go. The crowd around them were cheering. One side cheering on Ryuu, the other side cheering on Zyuu. They two brothers looked over at Luffy. She wasn't even attempting to mask the impressed gaze as she watched the two fight. The brothers smiled and charged each other again.

Back at the cage, Cheshire nodded.

"So, is the plan good?" he asked.

"Good enough." Ace leaned and looked back to make sure they weren't heard.

"Then let's get started." Sanji stood. He looked over and saw Luffy smiling and cheering for no one in particular. He was used to seeing his captain immersing herself into a good fight, though. The guards stood tall behind her, both relaxed now that she wasn't as angry as she was when she was taken away from the group. They were the key to the plan - well, the smaller and more timid one was. What did Luffy call him? Kiero?

"How do we get them over here?" Zoro asked. Cheshire thought.

"Leave that to me!" he assured. The other three nodded and waited.

Luffy laughed and cheered.

"Go! Go! Go!" She pumped her fist as a heavily-breathing Zyuu landed another hit on a cut-up and bleeding Ryuu. She glanced at her friends. Cheshire and Zoro were gone. She cocked her head to the side. Did Cheshire disappear? But the bars were sea stone. She looked around. Would they come for her? Then Sanji yelled.

"Hey! Two of us are missing!" he shouted above the screaming crowd. The crowd was to involved in the fight and Ryuu and Zyuu failed to hear, too. Luffy heard, but Kiero heard and so did Kitaro.

"What? How?" Kitaro got a frustrated look on his face. He nudged Kiero. "Go check it out," he said. Kiero froze.

"Oh, me? A-are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have to stay with Luffy-sama. Go," he said. Kiero flinched at his demanding voice and mumbled nervously as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

Kiero opened the door that held the cage.

"Um, where are they?" he said as harshly as he could. Sanji and Ace stared at the small boy. He looked buff, but not as strong as Kitaro. His muscles were barley visible under his shirt and he was shorter in size. The boy walked over to a wall and pressed a button. A wall came down and closed off the large window so the prisoners wouldn't escape. Kiero kept his distance from the cage. He threw in a pair of sea stone cuffs. "Put those on." he said. Sanji put them on Ace and sat as Kiero opened the cage door to look for clues.

"NOW!" Sanji yelled. Zoro and Cheshire appeared and attacked the surprised Kiero. The boy let out a surprised shout as a hand was slapped over his mouth and he was tackled roughly to the ground.


	10. Chapter 10

Zoro and Cheshire groaned from their spots on the ground. Ace and Sanji stared at Kiero in disbelief. The young boy was standing with his hands out in front of him. He opened his eyes.

"Sorry! Don't surprise me like that!" Kiero scolded the prisoners. The boy closed the cage and grabbed a den-den mushi from his vest pocket. He called someone while the crew watched. Ace couldn't believe what he just saw the small boy do. He was so fast it was blinding. "Yeah, it was a trick... what should I do?" Kiero said into the phone. The voice of Kitaro came from the other end.

"We'll handle it when the fight's over. Just keep an eye on them. You got that? Kiero?" Kitaro commanded.

"Yes, sir," Kiero said, hanging up. He sat in the far corner of the room, staring at the wall that was in front of the window. He sighed. "I can't even see the fight," he grumbled, pushing his blue bangs from his eyes and running his hand through the hair under his helmet. Zoro sat up against the bars. As long as Kiero was there, they couldn't come up with another plan.

******Meanwhile, on the Thousand Sunny**

Nami paced the floor. It had been almost two days since Luffy was kidnapped. Zoro and Sanji left, Ace left, there was no one to stop the Marines from taking them all in. It's not like they could leave this spot. What if the four were to return? Nami felt like ripping her hair out. She went and sat in the kitchen as Robin prepared lunch, the dark-haired woman had been cooking in Sanji's place. Usopp was sitting too. He was quiet. So was Franky. Nothing was the same without the Monster Trio running around the ship. Nami sighed. The crew ate lunch, Chopper went to watch the whirl pool in place of Nami, Usopp went to watch the sea around them, Franky stayed near the ship's controls (in case the crew needed a fast get away) and Robin read her book, silently keeping her own watch. Brook had been writing songs all day, wanting to sing a great deal when Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Ace returned. The ship was eerie and quiet.

It was around dusk that Usopp broke into a run and flew into the kitchen. He was breathing and talking in gibberish.

"What?" Nami said annoyed. The ship was rocked by a cannonball hitting the surrounding waters. Usopp took in a deep breath.

"Marines!" he yelled. Chopper slid in next.

"And it's not just any Marine!" he squealed. The crew felt another cannonball rock the ship and they heard a powerful voice boom.

"MUGIWARA!" it yelled. Nami screamed.

"No! No! Not him! Not now!" She banged her head on the table. Franky's voice came over the intercom.

"Everyone! Fear not! Brace yourselves for a SUPER explosion!" he yelled.

Down below, Franky slammed his hand on a button. A large blast of Cola was sent flying towards the Marine ship labeled "G5." The ship cracked and burst into pieces. The crew cheered at the unexpected and sudden win, but it wasn't as loud with out Luffy's high pitched, hearty laugh. They looked out to see all the Marines that were on the boat swimming back to where the top half of the boat floated sideways on the water. Nami scanned until her eyes fell on a figure laying motionless on a piece of drift wood.

"Hey! Usopp! Who's that?" she yelled, making Usopp look through his telescope.

"It's... Smoker!" he screamed. Robin chuckled.

"Let's save him. Captain-chan would be excited to have her favorite Marine as a guest," the archeologist pointed out, remembering all the times the young girl would laugh at Smoker's futile attempts to capture her. Chopper nervously hid in the tree as Brook looked up and let out a "Yohohoho!"

"I guess." Nami sighed. "Franky!" she yelled.

"On it!" was the response as Franky shot out the side of the ship on the Mini-Merry.

Smoker was _not_ happy. He glared at the straw-hatted pirate's ship.

"Damn that girl," he growled. He was just sailing along when he just happened to see their ship anchored a few feet away from a giant whirl pool. He spit out some water and turned his glare to a motor that was getting louder, closer. He turned to see that cyborg.

"Yo!" He waved.

"Get away from me! Damn pirate," he growled.

"Can't do that. Captain's would-be orders," Franky said, hauling smoker onto the boat. Smoker was still wet and powerless. He felt weak and simply sat as the Cyborg rocketed back to the ship.

Smoker sat in a cage that Franky had built before and dried off. When Smoker tried to get out, he found that he was powerless.

"Sea stone. Sanji-kun requested it to keep Luffy out the fridge at night." Nami chuckled. "We bought a bunch," she said, looking back at the sea.

"What are you pirates doing out here?" Smoker demanded, he looked around. If he remembered, there were two other people on this crew. Roronoa Zoro and Black Leg Sanji. They were nowhere to be found. In fact, the captain was gone as well.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Marine-san," Robin said.

"I'll make it my business!" Smoker threatened. The crew looked at each other, shook their heads, and went back to their stations.

"Chopper? Any sign at all?" Nami asked. Chopper shook his head, looking up from the whirlpool.

"None at all, Nami..." He sighed.

For the rest of the day, Smoker watched the crew and still there was no sign of Zoro, Sanji, or Luffy. The crew was always on a constant watch. They watched the whirlpool. Smoker noted that Nico Robin, the person who was assigned to keeping an eye on him, had an abundance of books that talked about a place called Wonderland. Smoker had heard of there before. But where?

******Smoker's Flashback**

___"Captain Smoker!' A Marine burst through the doors. Smoker looked up at him, clearing the room of the smoke that came from his three cigars._

_"____What is it?" he asked. The Marine held up a "missing" poster. It was a girl, like always. Many disappearances had been happening in the town Smoker was staying in. He had come to investigate. "Another one?" he asked. So many young girls had been disappearing._

_"____A friend saw him, though! The kidnapper has been identified." The Marine pulled out a pad and paper._

_"____Who is it?" Smoker demanded._

_"____Someone named Wonder D. Ryuu." The Marine squinted at the paper, "Here, let me read it to you, Captain. 'I never thought he was real. My mom would read me these books when I was a child but I never thought anything of it. Wonder D. Ryuu, he's the King of Wonderland!'" the Marine read. Smoker grabbed the note._

_"____Wonderland? What is that?" He scowled._

_"____Not what, Captain, where," the Marine replied._

******Smoker's Flashback End**

Smoker put two and two together. They were very close to the island he was on all those years ago. They were keeping watch, the three strongest members were gone and maybe... just maybe. Smoker looked up.

"Oi, Nico Robin," he called. The woman looked up to show she was listening. "Who was taken?" he demanded. Robin went back to her book.

"I'm sorry to say it was your favorite, hyper-active pirate captain," Robin said in her unchanging voice. Smoker was at a lost for words. Someone had succeeded in capturing the ever elusive Monkey D. Luffy. _And it wasn't even him?!_ He reached in his pocket and pulled out a den-den mushi. He yelled into the receiver.

"If anyone is there, tell the crew to head into the whirlpool!" he yelled. Then he waited . Finally, the water-filled reply came.

"What's going on? Captain Smoker?" It was Tashigi.

"I've found Straw Hat Luffy and Wonder D. Ryuu," he said into the snail. There was silence, and from the ship a mile away, you could hear the Marines shouting.

"WHAT!?" they yelled.

"Are you sure?" Tashigi asked.

"Positive. I suspect Black Leg Sanji and Roronoa Zoro to be there as well," he said. There was a small pause.

"Right away, sir! Everyone! Head to the whirlpool!" Then the connection was cut.

Smoker stood at the cage.

"Straw Hats! Let me go!" he yelled. Usopp turned from his spot watching the whirlpool.

"Why should we?" he asked.

"I'm going to Wonderland. Open this cage or else I'll have to use force," Smoker challenged. Chopper scurried across the deck.

"AHH! NAMI! FRANKY! ROBIN!" he squealed at Smoker's hard glare.

"You're scaring our doctor, Marine-san." Robin chuckled. Nami sighed.

"So, if we let you go, do you promise to _not_ take us in?" she asked.

"I don't make deals with pirates." Smoker glared at the navigator, who got an evil smile that spread ear to ear across her face.

"Oh, that's too bad. But, I'm sure Ace-kun can save Luffy. After that, we'll dump you in the sea and be on our way." Nami shrugged. Smoker's eye widened slightly. Fire-Fist Ace was down there as well?

"Fine! Evil woman," Smoker grumbled. Nami smiled and nodded as Franky opened the cage.

"Hey, wait! Who put you in charge?" Usopp asked Nami.

"I was Luffy's third crew member, it's only natural." Nami shrugged. Smoker ignored the bickering crew members and hopped down onto a life boat that held his small squad.

"Let's go!" He yelled as him and his squad fell into the whirlpool.

**Back in Wonderland-**

Luffy watched the fight as it intensified. The Kings had abandoned their swords in favor of using their strange powers. Luffy watched as Ryuu would send rays of light or powerful shock waves at his brother, who did the same. She didn't know where her other guard had gone off to. But Kitaro assured her he was just sitting closer so he could see. Luffy shrugged it off, shifting and feeling uncomfortable in her dress and her crown, which kept slipping down so that Kitaro had to constantly straighten it out. Luffy focused on the fight. It seemed as if Zyuu had the upper hand. But then Ryuu spoke.

"Brother! I have trained endlessly for this moment! Time for you to meet your demise!" he called, spreading his arms in a presenting matter. Zyuu raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? Like I'd let you win! Come! Ryuu!" he coaxed, charging his brother. Luffy leaned forward, Kitaro walked over to see what all the commotion was. Ryuu was gathering some sort of energy.

"Now for my best trick!" he exclaimed. The crowd was silent as the light around started dimming and the light around Ryuu grew brighter. "I'm going to make King Zyuu... disappear!" he yelled as everything went black.

******(A/N: DAMN RIGHT! I just threw Smoker at you guys. This should be interesting… Muhuhuhahahah!... Um, Read on. Please?**

******Beta/N: And this is the point where it doesn't even matter that I haven't seen or read Alice in Wonderland.)**


	11. Chapter 11

Light slowly filled the room again. Luffy rubbed her eyes and the darkness in the arena subsided completely. There were murmurs and gasps.

"What?" Luffy looked around.

"What happened?" Kitaro was confused as well, looking over the balcony. Luffy pointed. She looked up at Kitaro.

"Zyuu! Zyuu's gone!" She said.

"It appears so..." Kitaro said in a low, surprised voice. The crowd was silent, all staring at the spot where Zyuu used to be. Not a trace remained of the black-haired King. Luffy looked all around the arena, all around the stands, and even looked up into the sky - that was also now void of any clouds, its sun shining brightly on the arena.

"How does one person just... vanish?" Luffy asked.

"I don't know, Luffy-sama," Kitaro said. Then the referee stepped out.

"I-in light of what just happened!" He yelled into the microphone, "I declare, Wonder D. Ryuu is the winner!" There was a small silence before the crowds showered Ryuu with flowers and endless cheering. Ryuu turned and looked up at Luffy. He bowed.

"I am your King! Wonder D. Luffy!" Ryuu yelled, smiling as he added his last name to Luffy's name.

After the tournament battle, Luffy sat in her throne with Kitaro by her side. She kicked her feet in the air because she was too short to touch the ground. The door flew open and Luffy looked to the side. She stood up to get a better look and was pulled into a hug.

"Oh! Luffy-chan! Aren't you glad? We can finally be together!" Ryuu had pulled away, keeping his hands on her shoulders. He had a happy, crazed look in his eyes. Luffy shook her head and shrugged away.

"I want my old clothes. I want to go home!" she said. Ryuu kept that same happy face as if he didn't hear her at all.

"You can have all the clothes you want! Come now! Luffy-chan!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her down some stairs into the large clearing where he had fought Zyuu. Luffy looked at him. His face was scratched from the long battle, but he kept his composure. Ryuu set Luffy's hand in his own and held it up in a victory pose.

"The wedding will take place in two days!" he announced. And again, everyone in the stadium was cheering.

Kiero was confused by all the commotion outside. He pressed the button and let the window slide open. He looked out and let out a surprised gasp. He turned to Sanji, Zoro, Ace and Cheshire with a wide grin.

"Hey! Ryuu won!" he said.

"What?" Ace stood.

"Ryuu won! King Ryuu's gonna marry Luffy-sama!" He turned to the clearing cheered along with the crowd. The boys looked at each other, then back at Kiero.

"What does that mean?" Zoro muttered.

"It means we finally have a queen!" Kiero turned to them again, then his expression went from happy to timid. "But... you guys won't live long enough to see King Ryuu and Luffy-sama's reign," he muttered. Suddenly, the den-den mushi in his pocket rung. He grabbed it. "Um, hello?" he greeted.

"Kiero! King Ryuu and Luffy-sama are heading home. Get the prisoners back to the dungeon!" Kitaro's powerful voice blasted through the snail. Kiero flinched.

"Uh, yeah! Sure thing, Kitaro! I-I'll meet you back at the castle," he said as Kitaro hung up. Kiero turned to the four in the cage. "It's, uh, time to go," he said shyly.

Luffy was pushed into the carriage in front of her and Ryuu. She grumbled, fiddling with the dress that never seemed to stay in the same place that she was wearing. She looked over to Ryuu, who smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry, Luffy-chan! I'll make sure you're happy." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Luffy hastily wiped said cheek and scowled out the one way window. She watched Wonderland go by and yawned, tired from the day's events. She leaned back, her head hitting something behind her. She looked. Ryuu glanced at her a smiled. "Tired?" He put an arm around her.

"Kinda." Luffy yawned again. She thought about the last time she took a nap. Being as childish and energized as she was, Nami constantly had to make her go to bed and sleep for an hour or so to calm her down. She shifted under Ryuu's arm and drifted to sleep.

Behind the carriage sat a decorated prison cart. Inside sat the four boys, who were wondering what was happening to their sister, captain, and friend. Zoro remained silent, seething inside. He was the first mate; it was his job to protect his captain, and he wasn't doing a very good job.

"Luffy-chwan..." Sanji dismayed at his married captain. Just the way the word set in his mind made him sick to his stomach... "marriage." Ace kicked the cage door. The sea stone handcuffs were the only thing keeping him from bursting into flames from anger. He peered out the window at the cart in front of them. Everything in the field they were riding through was quiet, unmoving.

"He better not try and do anything to her," Ace growled, feeling a bit insecure without his sister by his side. Cheshire just looked up at the ceiling. He thought of anything they could do to help, and so far, he was coming up dry. He sighed as the prison cart rocked on the bumpy ground.

Luffy awoke when the carriage hit a large bump. She looked around, rubbing her eyes and looking at the head that had fallen onto hers. She moved to see Ryuu, who had dozed off along with her. She shook the sleep from her head and shifted in Ryuu's hold. The King woke up and looked at Luffy.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Luffy turned to him.

"Ryuu!" she started. He cocked his head to the side with a small smirk. "Ace - Ace is my brother!" she said.

"I know." Ryuu nodded, looking ahead.

"And I'm a Queen, right?" she asked.

"That is correct, my dear." Ryuu nodded again.

"So! Ace is like a Prince, right?" Luffy guessed, Ryuu stared forward, silent. He looked at Luffy when she prodded his arm. "Right?" she repeated.

"I... I suppose so," he muttered.

"Then Ace can't be in prison! Ace is a Prince! Ace is your brother, too!" Luffy said. Ryuu looked Luffy up and down, an amused smirk on his face.

"You are very strange. Wonder D. Luffy." He ruffled his fianceé's hair. Then he pulled open a small window. "Stop the cart!" he yelled.

The boys jolted when the cart stopped.

"We can't be there yet... something must be up." Cheshire stood. Zoro nodded, as did Ace and Sanji. The door swung open. The guards looked over the four, then their eyes fell on Ace, they bowed. Ace was confused.

"Ace-sama, our apologies," they said, leading him out the cart. Ace looked back at the three who were listening and shrugged. The guards talked to Ace.

"What's the big idea?" Ace asked.

"Luffy-sama informed the King of your relation," the guards said. "You are Luffy-sama's, the Queen's, brother, making you King Ryuu's brother as well. This makes you royalty," they explained. Sanji, Zoro and Cheshire exchanged glances, silent moment's of relief. They unchained Ace and led him to the cart, where he sat opposite Luffy and Ryuu.

Luffy smiled when Ace entered the carriage.

"Ace-onii-chan!" She jumped and snuggled into the familiar, warm, scent that was her eldest brother. Ace hugged her tightly and muttered into her hair.

"I won't leave your side again," he said. Luffy smiled. Ace looked up at Ryuu. "Why! Hello, brother." He said the last part with a scowl. As far as Ace was concerned, Sabo was his only brother. Ryuu forced himself on Luffy, and Ace wouldn't forgive that.

"Afternoon, brother," Ryuu nodded, the same slight scowl on his face. Luffy spun away from Ace and sat by his side, leaning against his bare chest and yawning, tired, yet again. Ace rubbed her hair.

"You need to sleep," he said. Luffy nodded and drifted off into sleep.

It was a silent ride to the castle. When they got there, Ace was showered with new clothes and he was provided with a room to sleep in, right across from Luffy's room. He walked down the hall, uncomfortable in his butler's suit. It was similar to one Ryuu had, only with a red undershirt instead of a white one.

"This is no way for a pirate to dress," he grumbled as he made his way to the dungeon. The guards bowed as they let him pass. "Oh! Where's Luffy?" Ace asked.

"The Queen is planning the wedding with the King," they said. Ace nodded, scowling into the dark stairwell as he walked down to where the other three were.

Zoro was asleep until he heard footsteps coming from the stairwell. He lazily opened on eye. Cheshire was also asleep, and Sanji was, as well.

"Who's there?" Zoro asked, walking to look out the bars.

"Yo." Ace waved from the other side of the cell.

"Ace," Zoro said, loud enough to wake Sanji and Cheshire.

"Ace?" Sanji yawned. Cheshire stood and rushed over.

"Alright, I made a plan," he said. The three stared at the boy.

"A plan?" they asked. Cheshire nodded.

"Yes! What did you think I was doing since Ace left?" He shrugged. They nodded as Ace sat in front of the cell.

"Well, spill it," he said. "Cheshire."

"Well, good job laying low until now, but -" Cheshire explained the plan, and soon, Ace was walking back up the stairs from the dungeon. He nodded at the guards as they closed the doors behind him.

Luffy sat in front of a book, Kiero sitting across from her, asleep. Ace had promised not to leave her, but he was gone. She assumed he had some plan to get her out of here, but for now she would go along with it. After many tailors came through with clothing after clothing, Luffy settled on some black pants, a bright red shirt, and red sneakers. Ryuu presented her with a crown. It was her straw hat with a crown instead of the red band, but if you lifted up the crown part, it was her hat through and through. She left the crown there (it held her hat down when the wind tried to blow it off). She yawned, flipping another page that she didn't bother to read while Ryuu was talking with Kitaro. She glanced over to listen.

"So, I need you to put the prisoners' swords in the training facility. It'll be nice for the guards trainee's to have something decent to practice with," Ryuu said.

"No!" Luffy said. Ryuu and Kitaro looked back at her.

"What's wrong? Luffy-chan?" Ryuu asked.

"I want them! I want the swords!" Luffy said, grabbing them from where they were leaning against the door. She held the three swords tightly against her chest. Zoro's treasure's. Ryuu looked at her with a confused gaze.

"I... guess, if it's what you want," he said.

"It is!" Luffy said. Ryuu smiled.

"Very well! Kitaro, take these to Luffy-chan's room." Ryuu slipped the swords from Luffy's hold and gave them to Kitaro.

"Of course, my King, Luffy-sama." Kitaro bowed and left the room.

Ace walked aimlessly through the large palace halls. He was trying to find his room. He yawned, feeling as if his narcolepsy was going to appear soon. He heard the closing of a door and slight humming. He looked up. Kitaro, Luffy's guard was walking away.

"Oi!" Ace waved, Kitaro turned.

"Ace-sama." Kitaro bowed. Ace waited. Then he set a fiery glare on the guard. "What's this?" Kitaro wondered as Ace brought flames to his hands.

"Just doing things according to plan," Ace said, charging Kitaro.

"I see." Kitaro jumped out the way, flipping over Ace and punching his back, Ace winced.

"You - you have Haki." Ace coughed.

"I do." Kitaro punched again. Ace rolled out of the way and used his flames to close around Kitaro. The guard was not so easily beat, though, and Kitaro pushed through the flames, facing Ace with burnt clothes and an ash-covered face.

The fight was long, neither side backing down. Soon, Kitaro was burned and beaten and Ace was bruised and battered.

"Enough!" Ace summoned the last of his energy.

"I couldn't agree more," Kitaro said, sending the remains of his Haki and energy into one hand. They both let out a cry as Ace shot out a large spiral of flames and Kitaro charged with his own fist. The two attacks met and a bright light filled the room.

A large explosion filled the castle, making everything shake. Luffy stumbled out of her chair and Kiero shot up in surprise.

"What was that?" Luffy yelled over the crumbling bricks.

"I don't know, but stay here, Luffy-chan. I'll find out. Kiero! Protect her at all costs!" Ryuu ordered, setting his crown on the table and running out the room, Kiero locking the door as Ryuu left. Luffy cocked her head to the side.

"It's, um, probably nothing, Luffy-sama. So, what do you want at the wedding?" Kiero tried his best to turn the girl's interest back on the boring book, silently praying Kitaro would come back soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Three guards surrounded the fallen Kitaro. They were unsure of what had taken place there. The walls in the corridor were crumbling and there was a large hole in the ceiling as well.

"Kitaro-senpai?" The three shook him.

"He needs medical attention!" one of them called.

"I'll get help!" The third of the group one got up and turned, only to be stopped. "K-King Ryuu?" the guard stuttered.

"What happened here?" Ryuu demanded.

"We.. we're not sure. But Kitaro-senpai needs medical attention!" one guard standing near Kitaro said. Ryuu nodded.

"Bring him to the infirmary," he said. The guards nodded, hoisting up Kitaro and carrying him off down the hall. Ryuu looked around. Things were charred and burned. He sighed at the bricks that were falling from the open ceiling and the cracks in the wall. He opened the door to Luffy's room. Her room was safe - no cracks, no holes. He went across the hall, opening Ace's room's door. The man was fast asleep on the large bed in his undamaged room. Ryuu closed the door and started down the hall to the infirmary.

Luffy tapped her foot impatiently.

"Um... is something wrong? Luffy-sama?" Kiero asked.

"Come on, Kiero!" Luffy jumped up.

"What?"

"Let's go! We need to see what happened!" Luffy said, tugging at the door. Kiero ran up and shook his head.

"No! No! Luffy-sama! Please!" he pleaded. With one swift and strong yank, Luffy pulled the door off its hinges. Kiero just stood there, speechless.

"Come on!" Luffy grabbed Kiero's hand and tugged him along. They raced down the hall and Luffy burst through the first door she saw.

"Luffy-sama! Wait, this is the -" As they rampaged in, Kiero saw all eyes were on them. Ryuu, the nurse, the doctor, and three guards were all staring at them. "The... infirmary..." he breathed.

Luffy looked at the body that was lying unmoving on the hospital bed.

"Who's that?" Luffy asked.

"It's, uh," the doctor stuttered, having never seen the Queen in person.

"It's Kitaro, Luffy-chan," Ryuu said. Luffy gasped.

"What happened? Is he alright?" Luffy asked, sitting at Kitaro's bedside.

"He'll live. But..." Ryuu trailed off. Luffy cocked her head to the side.

"But?" she asked.

"But he'll be out of commission for a few months," the doctor said.

Later, Luffy and Ryuu sat in the throne room. Ryuu turned to Luffy.

"Luffy-chan... we really need to get you a new guard," he tried.

"No," Luffy said for the fiftieth time. "I don't wanna sit through boring tryouts." She groaned, throwing her legs over one arm rest of the throne and leaning her back on the other. Ryuu sighed.

"But Kiero can't do the job alone," Ryuu said.

"No, no, no." Luffy shook her head.

"What if you get to fight them?" he asked hopefully. Luffy's face visibly lit up. Ryuu smiled. "Yeah, Luffy-chan, that way you can decide more thoroughly," he said. Luffy smiled.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll do it!" Luffy jumped up on her throne.

"Great! Wait, Luffy-chan! Be careful!" Ryuu frantically waved his hands while Luffy spun and jumped on the throne.

"I'm so excited!" Luffy cheered.

Ace woke up in his bed. He yawned and walked out of his room, banging into a ladder. He groaned.

"Ow..." He yawned.

"Oh! Ace-sama! So sorry!" A guard moved the ladder and let Ace pass.

"What's going on out here?" Ace asked.

"Roof construction."

"Where's Luffy?"

"She preparing for the tryouts."

"Tryouts?"

"Yes. Kitaro is out for a long while so the King's appointing a new guard."

"What are these... tryouts?"

"Well, Luffy-sama's going head-to-head with each worthy guard so she can choose herself."

"Head-to-head?"

"It was the only was she would agree," the guard sighed. Ace nodded. He started off towards the dungeon. It was nice that no one questioned why he went down there every day. He wanted to see Luffy, but this could help them all escape.

Cheshire paced the cage, impatiently waiting for Ace.

"That explosion could have been good or bad," Zoro muttered.

"True. Luffy-chan could be in trouble." Sanji blew out a puff of smoke.

"Not that, she can handle herself. I'm saying something could have went wrong," Zoro said, watching Cheshire's ears perk up.

"Someone's coming!" he said, looking through the bars.

"Who?" Sanji asked.

"Ace?" Cheshire called.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there," came a yawn. Ace walked in and sat in front of the cell. "Luffy needs a new guard," he smirked.

"Nice work." Sanji nodded. Zoro grinned.

"And, knowing Luffy, she'll go along with it without needing to know what's going on," Zoro said. Ace stood.

"Yeah, and I'll have to stop visiting soon. People are starting to notice," he said, waving as he left. The three in the cell nodded as the fire-user climbed the stairs and left the dungeon.

Ace opened the door to a large field.

"Ace. Welcome," Ryuu said. Ace looked over to see the King sitting in a chair at the far side of the field. In the center was Luffy, sitting with an anticipating grin on her face.

"What's going on?" Ace asked, sitting in the grass, ignoring that Ryuu offered him a chair. Ryuu looked back at the field.

"Luffy insisted she be the one to fight the guards..." Ryuu sighed. Ace nodded, looking back to Luffy, who was now literally bouncing with excitement.

Luffy grinned when the first person who was trying out came up. He was huge, so much taller than her. She grinned, punching her cupped hand with a fist.

"Bring it!" she shouted. The guard came at her. She gracefully jumped and dodged. "Don't hesitate!" she yelled when the man swung his sword. She ended up swinging her leg low and knocking him off balance, pinning him to the ground. "I win!" She smiled. Then she let the man up. "Next!" she yelled to Ryuu, who sent out the next guard. It was the same. As was the next. None of the men stood a chance against Luffy. Luffy kicked the ground and came over to where Ryuu was sitting next to Ace, who was sleeping.

"Something wrong?" Ryuu asked.

"This. Is. Boring!" Luffy crossed her arms. "None of them are strong enough." She glared back at where the men were groaning and getting medical attention.

"I see..." Ryuu stood. "Then the try outs are over... I'll have to figure something out." he said. Luffy sighed.

It was late. Luffy lay in her over-sized bed, missing her hammock that rocked in the gentle waves of the ocean. She rolled to the side and looked to where Zoro's swords rested against the wall.

"What did Zoro say?" Luffy muttered, trying to remember her first mate's words.

******Flashback**

___It was back when they met, back when they were fighting Morgan. Luffy had punched out Helemeppo and saved Coby when Morgan brought his axe down on her._

_"____Luffy! Look out!" Coby yelled. Luffy smiled and stood straight. She felt a back press to hers and she turned her head to look back._

_"____Nice!" She smirked at the back of the green-haired head. "Zoro!" Zoro turned to look at her._

_"____It's my job as a first mate to make sure you're safe," he said, and then he added, "Captain." Luffy smiled._

_"____Yeah!"_

******Flashback End**

Luffy rolled to her back and smiled at the ceiling.

"Zoro!" she exclaimed into the dark room.

The next day, Luffy was up early. She ran down the hall in her pajamas – a long black shirt and pants.

"Ryuu!" she yelled, sliding into the dining hall.

"Luffy-chan? You're up unusually early..." He scooped some food into his mouth. Luffy nodded and sat opposite her "husband."

"Zoro!" she said.

"Zoro?" Ryuu asked

"I want Zoro!" Luffy nodded.

"For what?" Ryuu sat back.

"My guard, of course!" Luffy leaned forward.

"The green-haired prisoner?" Ryuu raised an eyebrow and leaned forward as well.

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because he's my first mate!"

"I'm sure I can find you a suitable guard without resorting to prisoners." Ryuu let his eye close and continued his meal.

"I won't accept them!" Luffy yelled, causing Ryuu's eyes to snap open. He didn't speak, so Luffy continued. "I won't like it! Not at all!" Luffy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Ryuu put his fork down and sighed_._

"I..." He let out a breath. "I suppose we can arrange that, but only if he'll behave," Ryuu said to Luffy.

"He will!" Luffy nodded happily, "Thanks, Ryuu!" Luffy threw herself across the table and gave Ryuu a quick hug before letting go and running out the dining hall to her room so she could get dressed. Ryuu frowned at the hug.

"Could have lasted a bit longer, considering what I just agreed to," he muttered, eating more food.

Kiero walked hesitantly down the stairs to the dungeon. He was carrying a bundle of clothes for the guards. He stood in front of the cell of the three men, who weren't paying attention to him at the moment.

"Um," he said a bit loudly. All eyes were on him. "Z-Zoro! I am here on behalf of the... the King and Queen!" he recited.

"And?" Zoro stood.

"A-and... well, the Queen requires your assistance! She wants you to work as her guard!" Kiero finished, Zoro was silent. "It's an honor, you know... The Queen took down all of the guards who tried out... and she choose you, and -"

"Alright. I'll do it." Zoro smirked, cutting off the small guard. Kiero let Zoro out and handed him the clothes.

Zoro walked up the stairs in clothes similar to Kiero's. He refused to wear the helmet and kept his bandana tied around his arm. He opened the doors to the throne room and saw Luffy sitting in a large chair next to Ryuu. She smiled.

"Zoro!" Zoro bowed slightly.

"At your service," he grinned, looking her in the eyes. "Captain."


	13. Chapter 13

___Back with Smoker, who was falling through a large hole with pictures all over._

"Hey, isn't this Mugiwara?" A member of his squad grabbed a picture from the wall. Smoker looked at it.

"Yeah, all of these are." He looked around, grabbing a few himself. "Monkey D. Dragon. Portgas D. Ace, and this little blond kid," Smoker said, letting go of the pictures and watching as they snapped back into place.

"This is a little unsettling," Tashigi muttered. Right then, they all increased speed, slamming into the ground along with the small boat. Smoker stood, looking down the large hallway. He looked back at his squad.

"We're going this way," he said, leading them to a large round room with many doors.

Everyone looked around.

"What's with the doors?" someone asked, opening one.

"I don't know. Everyone, we should split up!" Smoker yelled.

"Split up!? In this crazy place?!" someone else shouted.

"YOU GOT A PROBLEM!?" Smoker boomed.

"No, sir!" Everyone yelled in fear, breaking off and choosing doors, going in and closing them behind themselves. Smoker looked to Tashigi.

"You too," he said.

"Yes, sir!" She saluted, picking a door and walking through. Smoker sighed, going to a large door that was bigger and more flamboyant than the rest. He opened it and was sprayed in the face with sea water.

"A sea under the sea?" he muttered, wiping his face. He turned and grabbed a table from the middle of the room, propping the door open.

Smoker dragged the boat from under the large hole to the round room. He took one last look at the calm water before placing the boat next to the door. He peered around the doorway.

"What the hell?" he muttered. It appeared as if the door was simply floating in the air above the water. He shrugged it off and got into the boat, rowing away from the door.

Back at the palace, Luffy was sitting next to Ryuu as they looked through more wedding books. Ryuu stood and stretched.

"Where are you going?" Luffy asked. Why did she have to sit here and look through these boring books?

"I have work to do." Ryuu ruffled her hair. "Besides, it's the bride's privilege to plan the wedding." He waved as he left. Luffy groaned, looking over to her guard, who was asleep in a near by chair.

"Oi! Zoro!" She threw a book in his direction. Zoro snored and lazily opened his eyes, only to be hit with a book.

"OW! WHAT!?" he shouted.

"I'm bored! Can we get outta here yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. Sanji and Cheshire are still in jail, remember?" he asked.

"Oh yeah..." Luffy muttered. She walked over to Zoro and sat in his lap, lazily scanning a page in the book. "But I'm bored!" she groaned. Then she flipped another page. On this particular page, there was a large picture of assorted meats.

Luffy shook Zoro awake again.

"Look!" She shoved the book in his face.

"I can't see it if it's pressed against my eyes." Zoro grabbed her arms and pushed them back, looking over the book that had a lot of pictures of food on it. "What about it?" He glanced back at Luffy, who was beaming.

"Let's pick out the food!" she said, jumping up.

"You know you're not actually marrying this guy... right?" Zoro asked.

"I know. Can't hurt to have good food, though! Come on, Zoro!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him out the room. Kiero was standing on the other side of the door.

"Luffy-sama? Zoro-san?" He yawned.

"I'll be back!" Luffy called.

"Oh! Wait! Luffy-sama!" Kiero stood and followed the two. Luffy grabbed his hand too.

"Walk faster!" Luffy said as she dragged her guard and her first mate down the hall.

Ace walked out his room to see Luffy dragging Kiero and Zoro down the hall.

"Luffy!" Ace smiled, not remembering the last time her had his sister to himself. It had been so long.

"Ace!" Luffy let the two go in favor of hugging her brother. She looked up at him with a large smile. "Ace! Have you seen Ryuu? I wanna talk to him about the wedding!" Luffy said. Ace noticed the book in Zoro's hand, his finger set on a certain page to hold Luffy's place. Ace looked down at Luffy.

"Hey, Luff, you know you're not actually getting married to that guy, right?" Ace asked worriedly. Luffy nodded. "And, you're not starting to ___like _this guy... are you?" he asked. Luffy shrugged at the question.

"I don't know. But I really need to find him. So I'll see you later! Ace! Zoro!" Luffy waved as she continued down the hall.

"L-Luffy-sama!" Kiero ran after her. Ace and Zoro exchanged looks.

"You don't think she's... falling for that bastard, do you?" Ace asked.

"Luffy is Luffy. She's unpredictable," Zoro said, walking past Ace and following Luffy.

Luffy opened the door to Ryuu's office, a room that she found thanks to Kiero. She rushed inside. Zoro went to follow her but Kiero held out a hand and closed the door.

"Luffy-sama's with the King. She doesn't need protection now. We have to wait till she comes back," he explained. Zoro made an annoyed noise and leaned against one of the walls of the door. Inside, Luffy had jumped and sat on Ryuu's desk.

"Food!" she said.

"You just ate, Luffy-chan." Ryuu smiled at her, signing another paper.

"No! Not that, but I am hungry. But the food for the wedding!" Luffy smiled brightly. Ryuu just stared at her. This was the first time she had shown any interest in the wedding what-so-ever. He smiled,

"The food? Would you like to pick out the food? Luffy-chan?" he asked. Luffy nodded. "Okay, let's do that, then." He pulled Luffy into his lap and Luffy smiled, jumping up and grabbing his hand.

"Yeah, let's go!" She pulled him out the room. Ryuu looked back at his work and then at Luffy, shrugging and letting her lead him the wrong way. But he didn't have to tell her that.

Ryuu had led Luffy in the correct direction. They were now seated at a large table with almost every chef in Wonderland in front of them holding dishes of food. Ryuu smiled at them all.

"Luffy's will be the one trying the food," he said. The chefs bowed to him, then bowed to Luffy. Luffy smiled.

"Food!" She grinned. The first chef presented his dish. It was meat covered in some sort of sauce, Luffy didn't care to hear or understand what the man said it was, she simply grabbed her fork and dug in. She tasted it for a moment, before shaking her head.

"What?" the chef said surprised.

"It's not as good as Sanji's!" She pushed the plate away. Ryuu looked at her.

"Sanji? The blond prisoner?" Ryuu asked.

"Sanji's the best chef," Luffy said.

"I'm sure someone here is better, Luffy-chan." Ryuu said as Luffy was presented with another dish.

"I doubt it," she said, taking a bite of the food on front of her.

No matter what chef, Luffy's answer was the same.

"It's not as good as Sanji's!" she said to the second to last chef. The last chef came, and by this time, Ryuu was feeling hungry as well.

"I'll take some as well." He held up a hand. Two plates were presented to him and Luffy. Ryuu tasted it, his eyes went wide. "This is delicious!" He grinned, eating more. The chef bowed to him.

"Thank you," he said, then he turned to Luffy. "My Queen? he asked. Luffy ate the food herself.

"Wow!" She smiled. "This is good!" But she pushed it away, leaving the chef, and Ryuu with confused faces. "But... it's not as good as Sanji's." She sat back.

"What!?" the chef asked angrily.

"It's good, but not as good as Sanji's," Luffy said with equal anger.

"What's wrong with it? It's perfect!" the chef said, swiping the dish away with his hand, Ryuu stood in defense of Luffy but a sword was held to the chef's neck. He looked back and saw Zoro.

"Yeah, it's perfect. But there's no heart. You didn't make it because it made you happy, you made it to beat everyone else. That ruined the taste." Luffy crossed her arms. "Not as good as Sanji's." She stood up. "I'm full." She walked away.

Ryuu followed Luffy.

"So what do we do for the food?" he asked her.

"Can we get Sanji?" Luffy asked.

"I'm sure we can find a chef that's to your liking."

"I refuse to eat any food not made by Sanji. He's been my chef for as long as I can remember."

"Well... if it's that important to you." Ryuu let out a breath. "I'll send for him." Luffy smiled, hugging Ryuu.

"You're the best, you know that?" She grinned. Ryuu smiled, leaning down and kissed Luffy's cheek, a bit surprised when she didn't hastily wipe it off like the last time. He smiled.

"Yeah, let's go do something else," he said, grabbing her hand.

"Let's play outside!"

"As you wish." Ryuu and Luffy left the hall and headed to the front door of the castle. Ace opened his room door.

"Luffy..." he muttered.

Kiero rushed down the dungeon stairs. The cooks in the kitchen were lost and angry without a head chef. He had to hurry. He clutched the bundle of white chef clothes tightly, the bright gold buttons shining in the dim stairwell. He slipped and slid to the cell where Cheshire and Sanji sat.

"Chef Sanji!" Kiero called. Sanji, confused, looked up. "The Queen needs your talents in the kitchen! You have the honor of making your best dishes for the wedding." Kiero huffed. Sanji stood.

"Very well." He smirked. "Anything for Luffy-chwan!" He spun out of the cell. Kiero felt sweat fall from his face and he handed over the clothes, leading Sanji up the stairs and to the kitchen.

Kiero bowed and left. The cooking staff were at the different stoves and ovens in the kitchen. He set the chef hat on his head.

"Alright! Looks like I'm in charge here! So let's cook a meal fit for Luffy-chawn!" he yelled.

"Yes, sir!" everyone in the kitchen recited. Meanwhile, Luffy was running around outside. She moved to the side and Ryuu skidded on the ground.

"You're very tricky." He smirked, Luffy stuck out her tongue.

"Catch me if you can!" she yelled, running off again.

"That's the third time you've said that." Ryuu huffed and ran after her again. At some point, they both sat in the grass. Luffy looked up at the palace.

"Hey, I'm gonna go see how Sanji's doing," she said. Ryuu nodded.

"Yeah, sure, I have work to do." He stood, helping her up. Luffy smiled.

"Bye, Ryuu! Let's play again later!" She waved.

Later, Ryuu sat at his desk. He passed another paper into the complete pile. He smiled at the fact that Luffy was finally warming up to him. She wasn't pushing him away. Not like before. She seemed more open than when he had first met her. The only problem was her crewmates. That swordsman, the chef, her brother. Ryuu knew they were planning something, probably to take Luffy away from him. It was quite vexing.

"All these prisoners... trying to run my castle... take my Luffy-chan," he muttered, signing another paper. He hated doing all this work, having to leave Luffy to Kiero and Zoro. The only upside he could think of was that that damn cat was still in jail. As far as Ryuu knew, he had no sentimental value to Luffy what so ever. "Once me and Luffy-chan get close enough... she won't need her crew, just like they didn't need her." Ryuu smiled. He was sure. He knew Luffy was bored of the lack of attention from her crew and he gave Luffy his full attention, so Luffy was starting to open up to him. He smiled.


	14. Chapter 14

Smoker growled as the boat rocked mercilessly in the raging water. He didn't know when had happened, but the sky had suddenly turned gray and rain came pouring down. Lighting, thunder, and wind raged along with the water. Smoker gasped when his back hit the side of the boat, he took in a bunch of sea water, coughing it out into the boat that was already flooding. He noticed that he was shrinking.

"What the...?" he muttered, looking around at how big the boat now was compared to him. He managed to save himself by jumping onto a stray piece of wood as the boat capsized.

Smoker kicked his way back with a lot of effort. He looked around, noticing he was in some sort of sewer. In this moment of distraction, he went under again, having to kick his way back to the surface for the second time, slightly relieved when he found that he was still in the same place. He felt some ripples in the water, and looking to the side, he saw someone swimming a little ways off.  
"You there! Boy!" Smoker yelled, then began coughing again.

Mouse was, once again, on his way to school. He glared harshly at the path way in front of him.

"When's the last time I had a break from school?" he grumbled, spitting out water in annoyance.

******Flashback**

___Luffy and Mouse sat in the midst of animals. Bunny, Rat, Squirrel, and their teacher Mr. Owl talked on and on about things Mouse didn't care to listen to. He looked to the soaked girl. She was drifting in and out of sleep. Mouse nudged her._

___"You dry yet, Miss Luffy?" he asked quietly. Luffy shook her head._

___"I'm as wet as the sea," she hissed softly._

___"What was that?" The owl had stopped to stare at the two in the back._

___"I'm as wet as the sea! This lecture isn't drying me at all!" Luffy shouted. The teacher was taken back._

___"Oh, that is strange. Well, class dismissed for now, I suppose." The class cheered as the teacher flew off._

******Flashback end**

Mouse chuckled at the memory.

"You there! Boy!" Mouse heard a yell and then some coughing from a little ways off, he stopped, kicking his legs and looking around. He heard some splashing. He turned in the direction of said noise and saw a man with white hair bobbing up and down in the water.

"Me?" Mouse said, looking around.

"Yes, you! I'm drowni -" The man went under.

"Oh, for Christ's sake." Mouse dove under the water, swimming around for the man.

Smoker came up coughing. Feeling an arm under his, he looked to see a boy with dark gray hair, tan skin, a black nose, and brown eyes there were staring at the Marine Captain in annoyance.

"Thanks, kid," Smoke said, unsure if he should say "kid" or "mouse."

"Hn," the boy grumbled, swimming to a ledge. With a few grunts, he tried to pull the pair out. Smoker felt the boy slip and fall under the water along with him. Smoker took in even more water as the two struggled in the river. Smoker's vision faded and he blacked out.

Mouse panicked when he came up alone.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." He dove back down, barely making it in time to grab the man before he hit the bottom and drowned. He dragged the man to the ledge and slammed a fist in his chest, water shooting out of the man's mouth like he was a cartoon. He saw a name tag of some sort. He read it over. "Smoker? What a weird name." he chuckled. "You know, this reminds me of..." Mouse laughed. "Yeah, her."

******Flashback**

___Mouse was on his way to school one day. He had just jumped into the water, swimming the rest of the way to class when he felt the water rippling in unusual patterns."Hey! Help! Please!" A girl was yelling, causing Mouse to turn to look at her. "Yeah! Mouse! Help, I can't swim!" she yelled. Mouse rolled his eyes and swam over to her._

___"Really? How old are you, Miss?" Mouse floated next to the flailing girl._

___"Help! Please!" Luffy yelled. Mouse rolled his eyes again and grabbed the collar of the girl's dress, dragging her to dry concrete._

___The girl panted while Mouse tapped his foot impatiently. She looked to her savior. Mouse was about her age, with a black nose, tan skin, brown eyes and a grayish hair color, making him look older than he was._

___"How old are you? How can you not swim?" he asked._

___"I-I ate a Devil's Fruit when I was really young. I never learned how to swim," the soaked girl panted, shaking water from her dark hair._

___"Well, you're on your own next time, Miss..."_

___"Luffy."_

___"Miss Luffy. You're on your own next time! Anyway, you may call me Mouse." Mouse folded his arms over his chest and decided to take pity on the dripping girl before him. "You know, you can come with me. I'm on my way to school and my teacher's lecture should dry you up."_

___"How can words dry you up?" Luffy asked._

___"Trust me." Mouse looked at her in amusement, a grin on his lips. "This is the driest lecture you'll ever hear." With that, Mouse helped up Luffy and led her into a small hole in a nearby wall, Luffy dripping water all throughout the walk._

******Flashback end**

Smoker woke up in a haze. He coughed, water flying out of his mouth, he looked up at the boy who had saved him

"Who are you? In fact, what are you?" he coughed out.

"I'm Mouse. I'm pretty sure my name says it all," the boy, Mouse, replied with a small amount of rudeness that definitely wasn't good-natured. Smoker glared at him, trying to make words through the large amount of liquid in his lungs.

"Little smart-ass," he grumbled, coughing up more water.

"Smart enough to swim," Mouse retorted. Smoker was silent for a moment. Mouse smirked.

"I ate a Devil's Fruit," Smoker said, sitting on the ground, legs crossed. He still felt the draining of the sea water. He wasn't completely dry, he guessed. Mouse's eyes went wide, then grinned a small grin.

"Ahh. You too, huh?" he asked softly enough for the white-haired man to not hear him. He chuckled dryly.

Mouse was leaning against the railing, Smoker noticed, while glancing at him as he coughed up more of the river. The mouse-boy chuckled, drawing Smoker's attention.

"What's so funny?" Smoker growled, pissed off.

"You can't swim. You ate a Devil's Fruit." Mouse chuckled again at his inside joke.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Smoker asked angrily, ready to punch the smaller boy at this point.

"It's just so nostalgic." Mouse looked up, then laughed at Smoker. It wasn't a chuckle like before, either – it was full-blown, ___obnoxious _laughter. Smoker was done with the boy's attitude and struggled to stand, his legs wobbly.

"What?" Smoker asked, a bit confused, standing and slowly feeling his strength coming back to him. Mouse pointed at Smoker and let out another laugh, making Smoker grit his teeth in annoyance.

"You're just like that pitiful girl I met a few days ago!"


	15. Chapter 15

Smoker was intrigued.

"Girl?" he asked.

"Yeah, she ate a Devil's Fruit when she was small. Pitiful thing couldn't swim to save her life, so I had to do that for her." Mouse laughed again.

"What girl?" Smoker pushed.

"Uh... Lu-something." Mouse tried to remember. "Luffy! Yep. Miss Luffy," he said. Then he turned away.

"Well, good meeting you, Smoker. I'll be going now." He waved. Smoker stood and grabbed Mouse by his head.

"You're not going anywhere," the marine said. "Tell me where... Luffy... went." Smoker put a strain on her name, not used to using the first name of his enemy.

"Anything to skip school." Mouse smiled.

******Meanwhile...**

It had been about a day since Smoker led his team into the whirlpool, and on that day, it was Chopper's turn to keep watch.

"Any sign of, well... anyone?" Usopp called.

"No," Chopper said sadly. Usopp sighed. Suddenly, the middle of the deck began to glow. Franky pulled off his working mask to look.

"Wow! That is one super light there!" He jumped up.

"Yohohoho!" Brook cried, running to hide behind the tree. The four began screaming and shouting at each other and panicking.

Up in the crow's nest, Robin glanced out and saw the boys on the deck running around a glowing light in a panic.

"What's going on?" She stood, getting Nami's attention.

"What?" Nami stood and looked out the window at the deck. Sure enough, the light started taking a form. "Let's go." Nami and Robin raced down the stairs and onto the deck. The boys had moved to a side of the deck.

"How peculiar..." Robin smirked as the light took the shape of a person. The person was unconscious, lying on the deck now. The crew all took a single step closer, feeling a bit insecure without the monster trio around. It was a man. He had white hair and was wearing a torn-up black butler's suit. He was battered and bruised, dried blood on his wounds.

"H-hey!" Usopp got closer.

"Is he alright?" Nami knelt next to him.

"Yohoho! It seems he's been in a fight!" Brook announced. Chopper came up the closest. He examined him.

"He's hurt, but he's breathing. Franky, can you bring him to my office?" Franky nodded, hoisting the man up and setting him down in the doctor's office.

For the next couple hours, the crew awaited news on the man's condition. Chopper swung the door open.

"He's waking up!" he said. The crew all came to the room. The man sat up, a large bandaged wrapped around his chest and head.

"What? Where am I?" He gripped his head.

"This is the Thousand Sunny." Robin smiled at him. The man nodded.

"I see... that sneaky bastard." The man swung his legs off the bed and rested his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands.

"Uh, who?" Usopp asked. There was no answer. "Let me rephrase that. Who are you?" Usopp asked. The man brought up his white haired head.

"My name is Zyuu," he said. The crew jumped back.

"Zyuu!?" they all yelled.

After some fighting, Zyuu found himself in a cage.

"There's no need for this. I'm actually quite harmless at the moment." Zyuu leaned against the back of the cage.

"We're not asking again! Where's Luffy?!" Nami growled, pointing her Clima-Tact menacingly at the white-haired king. Zyuu put up his hands submissively.

"Whoa, whoa! Settle down! The truth is, Luffy could be anywhere right now," he said.

"Explain." Robin glared slightly.

"I mean, I lost the fight for her hand in marriage. For all I know her and Ryuu got married and those friends of yours were executed." Zyuu shrugged.

"WHAT!?" Usopp and Chopper screamed.

"Again! I don't know!" Zyuu said nervously. "In reality, I'm the 'good guy'! I was planning on bringing your friends back here."

"Why would you do that? Aren't you Ryuu's brother?" Nami asked.

"Sit down, I'll tell you my tale." He motioned for the Straw Hats to sit.

"Go on," Brook said when Zyuu was silent.

"Oh! Of course. Well, I guess it all started at Lougetown. See, I lived there with my mom and younger sister. And my mom loved fairy tales. So -"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Nami cut him off, annoyed.

"I'm getting to that, if you'd let me speak!" he snapped. Nami glared and huffed, allowing him to continue. "ANYWAY!" Zyuu yelled to regain the crew's attention. "It was one day when this whole thing started. My mom had just finished reading her book -"

**Flashback**

___"- and so, King Ryuu continues to search for a worthy bride to this day. The end." A woman with blonde hair smiled, closing the book._

_"____I never get tired of that story, Mama!" A little blonde girl pulled her bed blanket up to her nose and giggled._

_"____Aren't I a bit to old for stories?" A younger version of Zyuu stared at the ceiling._

_"____Shh! Mama might not read it again, onii-chan!" the girl hissed._

_"____Alice, I'll never stop reading it to you. It's my favorite story, as well. It's how I came up with your big brother's name." Their mom smiled, kissing their foreheads. Zyuu rolled his eyes and smirked as his mother went to the door. His name was an altered version of Ryuu, since his mother believed they held a resemblance to one another._

_"____Goodnight." She closed the door behind her._

___Alice turned and stared at her older brother, whom she shared a room with._

_"____Psst! Onii-chan!" she whispered. Zyuu opened one eyes._

_"____What?" he asked._

_"____Do you think I could be Ryuu's bride?" she inquired. Zyuu propped himself up on his elbow and faced his little sister._

_"____He's like, nineteen years old Alice. You're only six," he muttered to her._

_"____So?"_

_"____So, he's gonna be way older by the time you'd be able to marry him. And he doesn't even exist, at that!"_

_"____He does!"_

___"No, he doesn't, Alice. He's just a stupid character in a childish story." Zyuu laid back down._

_"____You're so mean, onii-chan!" Alice stuck our her tongue, slamming herself back into her bed and pulling the blanket over her head._

_"____Hn." Zyuu rolled away from her and fell asleep._

___Over the next few years, Alice was obsessed with proving that Ryuu as real. She was always researching and calculating in every way she knew how. After a few years and the death of their mother, Alice and Zyuu were living by theirselves in their house. One day, Alice was very excited. She ran down the steps and slid into the kitchen._

_"____Zyuu-ah!" she fell flat on her face. A nineteen-year-old Zyuu stood and rushed over to his seventeen-year-old sister._

_"____Alice!? What the hell!?" He helped her up._

_"____I found it! I really did!" she exclaimed, thrusting a rolled-up map at her brother._

_"____Found what? Don't tell me you're still on that whole Wonderland thing..." Zyuu sighed._

_"____But I found it! Come on!" Alice shook her brother._

_"____Fine fine! I'll humor you. Only because I want to get off this island," he said defensively. "Now, where is Wonderland?"_

_"____Somewhere in the New World." Alice smiled. Zyuu's eye twitched._

**__****So the pair set off and sailed into the New World. They managed to avoid monsters, thanks to Zyuu, and they were coming closer to the destination Alice had in mind.**

___Alice smiled._

_"____It's here! Look, Zyuu! Welcome to Wonder -" she stopped when she saw nothing. "But... it was supposed to be here..." she muttered._

_"____Alice..." Zyuu didn't know what to say. "Come on. There's an island close by... maybe they'll know something." He tried._

_"____Yeah..." Alice nodded. When they docked, they asked around. Getting the same answer each time._

_"____Wonderland is nothing but a child's story."_

___It was a few months after, and Zyuu had bought a small house in the forest near the village of the island. It was one night. Everything was quiet. Alice was sitting on the couch and Zyuu was napping in a chair._

_"____The end..." Alice smiled, putting down 'The Legend Of Wonderland' for almost the hundredth time. She stretched, pulling the ribbon from her blond hair. She smiled at her brother, throwing a blanket over him. "Night, nii-chan." She yawned, walking off to her room._

___Later, there was a knock on the door. And another knock. And another one._

_"____Who!?" Zyuu slurred, falling from the chair. The messy-haired boy stood and stumbled to the door. He pulled it open. It was almost as if he was looking into a mirror. Except in this image, he had black hair. "Me?" he muttered, touching its face._

_"____...Please refrain from touching me." The man batted his hand away. "And I do agree. We look similar. How strange." He man stepped past Zyuu._

_"____Oi, oi!" Zyuu was more awake now. "Don't just walk into my house like that! Who do you think you are?" he snapped._

_"____I'm Ryuu. King of Wonderland." Zyuu's eye twitched._

_"____Sure. And I'm Zyuu, king of beating up burglars." He slammed his fist into his opposite palm. Ryuu crossed his arms._

_"____And how do you plan to defeat me?" he inquired._

_"____Like this!" Zyuu jetted forward, slamming his fist into Ryuu's face. The surprised man flew into the wall on the other side of the room._

___Alice woke up when she hear a loud crash. She crept out her room and down the stairs._

_"____Hello?" she called, "Zyuu?"_

_"____Stay upstairs, Alice!" Zyuu yelled to the steps._

_"____Alice?" Ryuu stood, rubbing his face, he turned and saw her. Ryuu stood frozen for a moment, he had never seen such a girl. Wide blue eyes, long blond hair, fair skin and a curious gaze. Zyuu stepped in front of her. Ryuu glared at him._

_"____Alice. Go upstairs," Zyuu growled._

_"____Yeah... I'll go." Alice turned and ran up the stairs._

_"____Ah! Wait!" Ryuu jumped up. Zyuu stepped in front of him again. Ryuu glared. "Let me pass," he growled._

_"____Like hell I would." Zyuu glared back._

___Alice stood in her room, pacing across the floor._

_"____Who was that guy?" she muttered to herself. After a few minutes, she heard her brother scream in pain. "Zyuu!" The blond girl rushed down the stairs. Zyuu was groaning in a pile of ____wood from their now-broken wall. "Zyuu!" she yelled again, sliding and kneeling at her brother's side. "Are you okay? What happened?" She shook him, but Zyuu was to out of it to respond._

_"____Hello, my dear." Alice turned and stared at Ryuu._

_"____Who... you... you did this!" Alice yelled._

_"____Please don't be alarmed," Ryuu said. Alice jumped and grabbed a piece of wood from the pile of rubble. She stood in front of Zyuu._

_"____W-what do you want?" Alice said, her eyes full of fear and her voice squeaking as she stuttered._

_"____You. Please, come with me to Wonderland." Ryuu bowed. Alice lowered her makeshift weapon._

_"____W-Wonderland?" she said, dropping the wood._

___Ryuu and Alice stared at each other for some time._

_"____Are... are you serious?" She squinted a bit._

_"____As serious as ever," Ryuu said._

_"____O... Okay. I'll come," Alice said. Ryuu smiled._

_"____That's wonderfu -"_

_"____But Zyuu has to come too!" Ryuu stopped._

_"____What?"_

_"____Z-Zyuu. He has to come. I won't go without him," Alice said. Ryuu looked back at Zyuu. The white-haired boy was struggling to remain conscious. Ryuu stared at Alice and Alice stared back. Ryuu sighed._

_"____Very well," Ryuu said. Alice grabbed her brother's arm._

_"____Come on, Zyuu, you have to stand." She tugged at him. Zyuu winced and stood, leaning on Alice. "Okay, you're alright. Everything's gonna be fine." Alice smiled as she followed Ryuu out of the house into the night._

**__****It was a few years that they lived in Wonderland. No one had aged. Ryuu had requested that Alice marry him. Alice refused.**

___Alice shook her head._

_"____I can't... I can't marry you." She looked down. "Sorry, Ryuu..." She turned. "It's been fun here. But I think it's time for us to go home," she said, Ryuu grabbed her arm._

_"____You can't leave," he said._

_"____I have to." Alice pulled, but Ryuu's grip was steady._

_"____Alice?" Zyuu walked into the room. "What's going on?" he asked._

_"____We're leaving," Alice said._

_"____It's about time." Zyuu rolled his eyes. Ryuu glared._

_"____You're not going anywhere," Ryuu snapped at Zyuu._

_"____Look. Alice doesn't want to marry you." Zyuu grabbed his sister's other arm._

_"____Then we'll battle," Ryuu said._

_"____What?" Zyuu raised his eye brow._

_"____If you win, Alice can go. If I win, Alice stays."_


End file.
